


The Darkest Hours

by Lasafara



Series: Of Snake Tails And Angel Wings [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: (mpreg in that character is male but has biologically shifted to female parts to conceive), Asexual!Castiel, F/F, F/M, Fake Pregnancy, M/M, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Nonbinary!Raphael, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Political Intrigue, Self-impregnation, ability to biologically change gender as a species trait, aromantic!Balthazar, bisexual!dean, learning about even more new cultures, marriages for procreation/platonic affection reasons, medieval communication is slow and prone to mistakes, see previous installment for more tags, sort of mpreg, transman!Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 57,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16609502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasafara/pseuds/Lasafara
Summary: Dean WInchester knew that the Leviathan meant bad news, but he had no idea how bad. Having rejected the validity of Dean's marriage to Castiel, the Leviathan may have spelled disaster for everyone. Meanwhile, Kelly's news complicates everything, and no one is quite sure how to proceed. Communications break down between the nations at a time when it is most critical, and everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do next.What does Lucifer have planned? How do the Leviathan figure into this? What will the Cecropian Queens do with his wife on the run? And can Benny and his family find a way to help?The world is getting darker as the longest night grows closer, and for the light to prevail, the peoples of many nations will have to work together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, thanks go to my beta, Elliedew, as well as Diminuel, unforth, and amirosebooks for letting me ramble about this fic to them. I'm going to start posting now, but this part of the fic is Not Complete as of now. I'll be adding tags as I need to. There Is No MCU, but some characters who die in canon permanently will die in this fic. I just can't save everyone. 
> 
> I'm going to try to post roughly every week until I either catch up or finish this part, whichever comes first. There will likely be at least one more story in this series. 
> 
> I will also add notes at the end of chapters for things like definitions of words and explanations of deities. Maps and diagrams will be added as necessary and available.

Though she would never admit to it, the moment Naomi shut the door to her bedroom, she immediately crawled into her hammock bed and hooked it closed, vowing not to leave until dinner time. Naomi couldn’t feel truly comfortable until she was back in Fleamdom, safe in her bedroom. She was not a fan of travel at the best of times, but the Cecropians… They made her feel dirty. Living so directly on the ground as they did, pulling water from a river they didn’t know the source of, Cecropians were the antithesis of how Enochians saw themselves, or so Naomi felt. In her hammock, she was safe from the kinds of things that slunk and slithered along the ground.

Enochians didn’t build directly on the ground, not exactly. Private homes included a garage on the bottom for the storage of food, goods, and animals. The castle had the garage, where the royal animals and often their keepers were housed, the armory, the granary, and the barracks at the back of the bottom level. The palace's own little army were close at hand should there be a need. The granary was fed by several very tall silos, holding barley, quinoa, and rye, various legumes, as well as various grains fit for the animals. The granary held enough food in storage for the city to survive the winter and then some, protected by Ealdan’s kin, the castle felines. 

Fires were built on the ground level, with the heat directed into a series of simple pipeworks, augmented by other fires throughout the homes as needed. Smaller homes often made do with only pipework, while larger homes needed more. Coupled with the heat that came off the animals and other things within the garages, it served to keep a home quite warm. The castle didn’t stay as warm as even the largest of noble homes. It was simply too vast. But good design meant that the bedrooms were kept at a reasonable temperature, and any room not in use could be blocked off from the pipework system as needed, and fires lit within the rooms themselves to help warm a room quickly. 

Naomi had only been away from Enochia for a little over a month, just long enough to travel down with her son, see him married, and come back again. The trip back had been, by necessity, more leisurely, both because the oxen pulling the carriages were tired and because once inside Enochia and the foothills of the Heahmor Mountains, the roads began to climb. It was still spring, barely, and that fact was more noticable the higher they climbed. As much as Naomi had wanted to be home, she’d known it was for the best not to push the animals too hard. 

Still, being back home was sublime, and she nearly groaned aloud when the knock came to the door. With a sigh, she undid the hooks on the inside of the hammock and sat up, carefully pulling her wings back up through the slits made to let them drape freely beneath her as she slept. Once fully free of the bed, she stood and straightened her clothing, before facing the door.

“Come in,” she said imperiously.

The door opened, and her husband leaned in, grinning at her as she slumped in relief. “I take it you are not going to be relocating our summer home to Ophidai City?”

“Ealde, no! If it weren’t for the good this treaty will do for our people, I’d send for Castiel immediately. I cannot believe you talked me into letting our son live with the savages like that,” Naomi said. 

Joshua shut the door behind him, taking his wife’s hands and pulling her towards a chair that had a broad lower back and head rest, but between the two was only a long padded bar. Sitting down, he pulled her into his lap. Naomi went easily, tucking her head under her husband’s chin and letting him wrap his arms around her. 

“If I recall correctly, my dear,” Joshua said, “it was your idea.”

He pulled her close, his acorn-brown hands against her sand-beige skin soothing her soul. Naomi almost snorted at her ridiculous poetry, even in the quiet of her mind. There had been many who had not believed that she and Joshua would make it to the wedding ceremony. While both were quiet and outwardly calm, Joshua was hands-off in his approach to ruling. He didn’t believe in forcing people into certain roles, and if she were honest, would have happily allowed their youngest son to remain at home doing nothing his entire life, had Castiel so chosen. The garden will grow as it pleases, he would tell her, and attempting to force an order to it will only create chaos later.

Naomi, on the other hand, believed in vigorous pruning and shaping. She’d learned a long time ago that Joshua would not allow her to groom him, but neither could he completely settle her. The balance they achieved between them was what made their marriage work. Joshua was the strength that anchored their marriage, the oak tree that protected their family, while Naomi was the river flowing beside it, feeding it and bringing passion to it. 

“If you say so. Castiel needed _something_ , Joshua. He was so… directionless, here,” she said. “Besides, Lucifer was right. We need to start looking beyond our own borders.”

“He might have found direction here eventually,” Joshua said into her hair.

“Don’t you start that. I feel bad enough as it is leaving him with those heathens. But I have been trying to nudge him towards prospective partners since his coming-out party four years ago, and he just had no interest,” Naomi said. “He’s twenty years old! He should have been courting ages ago.”

“There was that Balthazar…” Joshua said, smiling against her head so that she could feel it.

“I know, I know,” Naomi said with a sigh. “He insisted they were only friends. If I had thought that was going to go anywhere, I would have been less inclined. But you know our Castiel. Stubborn as a goat.”

Joshua snorted. “Then it seems, my dear, that you have done the best you could.”

“I suppose. At least this way, Castiel will not be expected to bear children. He’s talked at great length about his desires for a marriage without sex, and I could never give that to him with anyone from Enochia,” Naomi said. “I cannot for the life of me imagine why he would want a loveless marriage, but I did the best I could.”

“And now you are home, leof. What do you suppose we do to celebrate?” Joshua’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and Naomi smirked.

“It seems you have an idea, medleof,” Naomi replied, sitting up. Joshua leaned in and met her kiss. 

Naomi had to admit, while being away from her country, her duties, and her comforts was hard, being away from her husband was far worse. However, if it meant being greeted like this upon her return, she might have to devise a reason to travel more often.

*****

As soon as Naomi returned with news that the treaty had been ratified, things at the castle began to move. The teams of oxen and donkeys, with their stores of food and weapons, had already been sent to the border, to await orders. Several battalions of soldiers stood at the ready there as well. All they needed was their leaders. Cain, Joshua’s second-in-command and the general of his army, had pulled together his personal troops, as well as Michael and his company, and Lucifer and his company. At Joshua’s command, they’d begun to move. 

Naomi did not like that she’d only had a single day to say both hello and goodbye to her eldest children, but it couldn’t be helped. The Cecropians had agreed to peace on the condition that the Enochian army help them in their battles just as the Cecropian army would be available to help the Enochians. Michael and Lucifer, at 26, had not yet been in battle without their father beside them, and never against the Agaranese, and this had presented the perfect opportunity to let them stretch their wings. With Cain to oversee them, it was unlikely that any harm would come to them, but it was still war, and Naomi was, first and foremost, their mother.

So she’d stood at the gates of the city, watching as the soldiers packed her sons’ things into carts, and held stiff and firm against the overflow of emotion. When the time came to say goodbye, she looked her sons in the eyes. 

“Michael, Lucifer,” she said.

“Mother,” they replied together. Despite all their petty fights, they were still twins, and Naomi almost smiled at the reminder.

“I expect you to take care of each other. Listen to General Cain. Do not give me cause to grieve,” she said instead, hiding her emotions behind a mask. 

Her sons nodded, and she gave each of them a hug before they headed off. Once they were settled in their carriage, the general himself came to her. 

“General Cain, if either of my sons does not come home, I will hold you accountable,” Naomi said, narrowing her eyes at the man. 

Cain, a grey-bearded man with only one arm, quirked a smile and saluted. “Ma’am. I’ll do my best.”

“See that you do,” she replied. Cain nodded, and moved on to speak to her husband about the arrangements that needed to be made. Normally several parts of this process would fall onto her shoulders, as she handled quite a lot of the process of ruling. But while she could send her sons to war, and prepare as best she could behind the scenes for them, she couldn’t handle standing at the forefront and discussing calmly the tools that might bring about her children’s deaths.

Instead, she made her way a respectful distance away and then took flight. Joshua would come find her later, and they would both pretend she had not cried at her sons’ departure, and her husband would reassure her that their boys knew what they were doing. It would all be okay by the evening meal, and Naomi would have no trouble arranging for further needs when the army reached its destination.

For now, she would allow herself a very small indulgence. 

*****

It would take the supply chain nearly a month to reach the southern Cecropian border, but with the promise that Cecropia would be happy to share supplies until their own could arrive, the Enochian army took to the air. Every soldier was trained to watch their leaders mid-flight, to respond to small signals when words couldn’t be heard. Leaders also carried ouhomas, or goat horns, in order to communicate major changes or directions. By flying in roughly a V-formation and alternating who flew on point, the army could stay aloft for hours. Each soldier had a pack, holding their weapon, shield, and enough food for two days. Certain soldiers also carried medical supplies and other necessities. Lodging had been arranged for the soldiers by the Cecropians at roughly the halfway point, where they could sleep the night and restock their packs before taking off again the next morning.

Even though Cain had explained all of this to the Cecropians he’d been in contact with, the Cecropian army was still somewhat astonished to see them circling a half-mile from the Cecropian campsite near the border no more than three days after they’d left. Shouts went up in the camp, loud enough to be heard in the air even over the wind, and ouhomas sounded all throughout the formations, directing battalions where to land. For several minutes, it was nothing but a controlled chaos, all noise and movement and the roar of the winds.

There was order to the pandemonium, though, and it wasn’t but a half-hour after they’d first been spotted that the Enochians were marching in file to the Cecropian camp. General Cain, his lieutenant generals, Prince Michael, and Prince Lucifer led the procession, stopping just outside the base. There to meet them was King John Winchester, a grizzled older Cecropian with dark hair, a salt-and-pepper beard, and a black and gold tail, General Rufus Turner, dark-skinned with a green and brown tail, and General Bill Singer, a tawny rounded Cecropian with a red and brown tail. 

The introductions went quickly, and then came more activity, as the Cecropian generals gave the orders to rearrange the camp in order to accommodate the new arrivals. While in civilian life Cecropians commanded a large personal bubble, military encampments were used to tight quarters. Because the treaty between the two nations was so new, no one expected the two species to share tents, but Cecropians could bunk several to a tent as needed. New, makeshift tents went up, and other tents were vacated, until everyone had a place to settle in. It would only be temporary, until the Enochian supply train arrived, and King Winchester had also already sent runners to the nearest towns to purchase more supplies. 

Although it was perfectly acceptable for most people to be squashed together on a temporary basis, General Cain and the Princes could not be expected to share space with their soldiers. General Turner, having a large tent to himself as part of being General, had graciously offered to vacate his own space for the Princes. General Singer and General Turner would bunk together, and, since they would need General Cain’s knowledge and skills to inform new strategies, it was decided that he would bunk with them. Prince Michael was resigned to the situation, but Prince Lucifer was enraged, even as he held his tongue, at the requirement that he share a tent with his brother. King Winchester brooked no arguments, though, and they set to making the various arrangements.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucifer spent most of the time he was forced to share a tent with Michael complaining. There was no reason to have them both here. Neither of the companies they commanded, at only 150 soldiers, was enough to make a difference, and surely it was ineffective to have them both down here at the same time anyway. He hated to have to confirm every decision with Michael. There were bugs and rodents and other pests. The food didn’t taste right. It was too wet, or it was too dry, the nights too cold and the days too hot. Even once extra tents had been arranged for, it seemed that Lucifer would seek Michael out just to complain. By the time the Enochian supplies had arrived, Michael had seemed at his wits end. In a fit of exasperation, he’d suggested that Lucifer take the empty carriages back to Enochia with a list the generals of the combined armies had thought would be helpful in light of new insights about each other.

With an eagerness that Michael should have found suspect, Lucifer left his Lieutenant Dagon and her platoon behind with Michael and piled the rest of his company into the carriages. No one bothered to supervise Lucifer’s departure or scrutinize his bearings as he left. So no one noticed that once out of sight by ground or wing, Lucifer’s new caravan took a sharp westward turn, nor that only Lieutenant Ramiel and his platoon stayed with the carriages, barely a skeleton crew. No one saw Lucifer, Lieutenant Asmodeus, and the final platoon take wing back to Enochia. And no one saw the carriages cross into enemy territory under cover of night.

*****

Despite the new peace, communication was not easy between the two nations. It took several weeks for things to settle into a reliable network, during which time Naomi paced anxiously. When she had been corresponding directly with the Queens of Cecropia, it had been easier. She’d simply sent her most trusted courier to relay her requests. But now, she was hoping for news of Castiel, either from Ambriel, Uriel, or Castiel himself. 

Naomi was quite sure that she could have continued sending Samandriel to Cecropia, but Samandriel had other duties in Enochia. Besides, he had been the best choice while the treaty was being negotiated because he was an unassuming young man, skilled in disguise and diplomacy, well-trained in combat and self-defense, and easy to overlook. If Naomi wanted this treaty to work, though, she needed to learn to trust other means of communication, including the relay system that the Cecropians used to pass correspondence between tribes. 

The first messages she got were largely polite nonsense. Uriel was too stolid to pass along anything worth reading. The letter he sent along for his foster father Zachariah was given over to the older man without Naomi bothering to open it, and the message he’d written to her simply stated that all was well. Ambriel was clearly dancing around sharing something of some import, but Naomi wasn’t quite sure what. It clearly made the girl uncomfortable. It frustrated the queen that Ambriel was unwilling to speak freely, but she supposed it wasn’t surprising. After all, Ambriel also did not know whether or not her letters would get into the right hands this first time. 

Settling in, Naomi penned back a response to Ambriel, letting the handmaiden know that her letters had arrived safely and with the seals intact, and so if this letter also reached her in the same manner, then conversation could continue freely. She tried to be circumspect in her wording, but nevertheless, she encouraged Ambriel to tell her everything. Naomi also let Ambriel know that if Uriel would prefer not to write, the Queen would understand. 

She sent the letters off with the staff, letting them know that in the future only the letters directed to her specifically needed to come here. Letters from Cecropia to anyone else could travel freely, now that she’d confirmed that they would arrive safe and intact whether penned to the castle or to commoners. 

*****

When Lucifer arrived, alone but for a single 12-person squad, Naomi feared the worst. Lucifer was quick to reassure her, though. He’d only come back because things were going so well, and because once down there, it was clear that the supplies they’d sent wouldn’t be enough. 

“Besides, Mother, I simply couldn’t leave you alone so long,” Lucifer said, and Naomi rolled her eyes. 

It was a couple of days later that Ambriel’s next letter for her arrived, placed on the meal tray at midday as she sat at the table with her second-born son. 

“What’s that?” Lucifer asked. He’d been incredibly busy the last few days arranging matters so that when the caravan from the south arrived, they could load up and get the necessities down to Michael and the army as quickly as possible. Naomi had only just that today been able to arrange a quiet meal with him.

“Castiel’s handmaiden, Ambriel, is keeping me updated on Castiel. You know your brother is hopeless at regular correspondence, and wouldn’t tell me anything that he thinks would worry me anyway,” Naomi said as she broke the seal. “I can’t trust him to be honest, and I need to make sure he’s safe. So Ambriel is under strict instructions to make sure I know everything, at least until we are sure we can trust the knot-tailed beasts.”

Lucifer snorted, opening the various dishes to reveal their meal while Naomi read the letter. She must have reacted somehow, because the next thing she knew Lucifer had dropped the lid to something and was kneeling beside her. “Mother? You’ve gone white as a sheet!”

Naomi only shook her head. “It must… I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Mother?” Lucifer asked. “What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, Naomi turned to Lucifer. “Ambriel sends news. Apparently the wedding night went well. Castiel and the Crown Prince are rarely seen apart. Ambriel says that the Cecropians are quite aloof, unwilling to be too close to each other, but the Crown Prince openly keeps Castiel by his side, never out of reach.”

Narrowing his eyes, Lucifer was silent for a moment. “Castiel has always been very tactile but, and correct me if I am wrong Mother, hasn’t he always insisted that he wanted nothing to do with sex? What does she mean, then, that the wedding night went well?”

“It seems they were expected to spend the first night together. And that they’ve spent nearly every night together since, despite Castiel’s initial trepidations,” Naomi said, folding the note back up. She was positive that her uncertainty was hidden, but Lucifer still seemed suspicious.

“Are you sure the Crown Prince isn’t… taking advantage? Castiel has always been somewhat… different,” Lucifer said carefully.

“Castiel is the most stubborn person I have ever met. He only listens to me rarely, and only because I am his mother,” Naomi said firmly. “I cannot imagine him changing.”

Lucifer nodded, settling back in his place for their meal. He finished getting their meal ready with a flourish. “I’m sure you’re right, Mother. After all, even though he’s in a foreign country, surrounded by potential hostiles, with no one to rely on and no backup, and correspondence difficult, I’m sure he’d never compromise his beliefs.”

Tucking the letter away, Naomi firmly changed the subject to the matter of their meal, and Lucifer allowed it. She would not share her concerns. She was sure it was nothing. 

But she did put out notice that any letters from Castiel were to come to her first, from now on. She knew he’d written to Anna, which did not bother her. But if Castiel were in trouble, he might be more likely to tell someone else.

Naomi would make sure she knew, if her son were in trouble.

*****

It reassured Naomi when Castiel requested Balthazar’s presence. She made sure to smooth the way for his departure with his parents and the other nobility. As a minor noble family, Balthazar’s family would normally have been far far down the list of people who were to represent the Enochian nobility or provide worthy companionship to the royal family in Cecropia. It ruffled feathers, then, that he was chosen over other families, no matter that he had the skills that Castiel required nor that he had been Castiel’s chosen and approved companion for years in Enochia. No one cared who hung around with the seventh and youngest child of the royal family when there were other, more prestigious members to court. It was only now, that a link with Castiel meant prominence not just within the Enochian borders but also in Cecropia that the higher nobles took notice.

Anna was not, perhaps, the most diplomatic, and had it been left up to her and Balthazar, likely Naomi would have ended with a mess. So Naomi nipped it in the bud, making it clear graciously and firmly that Balthazar, through his skills and loyalty, had earned this appointment to Cecropia. She also, then, suggested that further appointments were sure to follow, and that what would be valued most highly would be discretion, loyalty, and compassion. Her hope was that in adopting a strategy of reward over rank, there would be less likelihood of backlash over Balthazar. In addition, she might have more control over who represented her family and country in the future. 

Balthazar was a wild card at times, but Naomi knew she could trust him to put Castiel’s best interests at heart. With Michael gone and Lucifer unaccountably busy, she had Raphael pull him aside for a quick chat.

“What can I do for you, Highness?” Balthazar asked.

“It’s about my brother, Castiel,” Raphael replied. “In the letters we’ve gotten, well… Something seems amiss. I never did think it was such a good idea for Mother to send him away.”

“Amiss?” Balthazar asked. “What do you mean?”

Balthazar was a suspicious man at heart, especially where the older princeps were concerned. Raphael and Gabriel, three years younger than Michael and Lucifer, were far less disingenuous than the oldest twins. Raphael tended to say exactly what was on er mind, and damn the consequences. Gabriel was less direct, but no less trustworthy once one got to know him. There was a fair amount of jockeying that went on between the oldest four. The three youngest of the royal children had been left largely to their own devices, out of the machinations of the older children’s fighting. Because Anna, James, and Castiel had all largely refused to participate in the rivalries, Raphael, Michael, and Lucifer tended to ignore them. So it was strange for Raphael to be suddenly interested in er youngest brother’s well-being, but at the same time it couldn’t be discounted completely, either. 

“Queen Mother’s letters from the prince suggest that certain things she had been led to believe would not be expected have in fact been required,” Raphael said. 

Raising an eyebrow, Balthazar said, “The Queen Mother did progress with this fairly quickly, it seemed.”

“I am not sure how much you know about our border with Leviathan territory, Balthazar, but the unfortunate fact of the matter is that our villages are being driven further and further into the mountains, as the Leviathan creep farther north,” Raphael said. “Many northern coastal fishing villages have been lost or abandoned. Prince General Lucifer has made it clear that we are going to need help if we are going to retain any ability to fish the north-western borders at all.”

“I didn’t realize it was that bad,” Balthazar said, his eyes wide.

“It’s not beyond our ability to deal with yet, but unchecked, the Leviathan could once again become a major problem. Cecropians may be heathens, but they fight well and will make good allies,” Raphael said. “That is why this treaty is important. If General Cain and Crown Prince Michael can cement alliances and work out ways to fight together in the south this year, then by next spring we should be able to bring Cecropian soldiers up here to help drive back the Leviathan as it warms up. All of that rests on Castiel’s marriage.”

Balthazar nodded, his face as hard as stone. “If I may speak freely, Highness?”

Raphael nodded.

“It seems, with those facts, that it might have been more prudent to have given Castiel more knowledge of the necessity, and in fact perhaps even have gotten more assurances of Castiel’s safety,” Balthazar said, his voice cold.

“I do not disagree. The Queen Mother made what choices she thought were best for the time, however hindsight might view them now,” Raphael said. “But things must be dealt with as they are now. The Queen Mother requests that you...observe, and make sure that the Prince is safe and in good health.”

“I would do nothing less, no matter whether she asked me to or not,” Balthazar said, some offense in his voice.

“And that is why the Queen Mother trusts you,” Raphael said. Then, for a brief moment, it was no longer the Princep Medic speaking to Balthazar on behalf of the Queen Mother, but simply Raphael, an older sibling deeply concerned for er younger brother. “Make sure he’s safe, Bal. For me. If Castiel needs me, if he’s hurt in any way, send for me. I can be in Haefenton with my supplies within two days, with a place secure from attack. Please.”

Balthazar nodded, and the Princep Medic returned. “The Royal Family thanks you for your service, Balthazar. Go in peace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Princep - Enochian word for a fernan royal child. Prince, Princep, and Princess are all equivalent terms in this way. Princep can also be used to describe a royal child of indeterminate gender or too young to be gendered, thus if discussing a group of royal children, it is correct and polite to refer to them all as "the princeps." 
> 
> Similar to how Western culture defaults to male nouns, Enochians default to fernan nouns. Since being fernan or having a fernan child is considered a blessing on you, your family, and your community, it's also a subtle way of giving the deity's blessing. This is why Ealdra is invoked in the fernan aspect normally, if not in the speaker's own gender, to acknowledge Ealdra's blessings.
> 
> Note: Raphael in this story is fernan nonbinary. This can mean a lot of things (later in the story we'll be meeting someone who alternates pronouns), but for Raphael it means that the correct pronouns are e/er. It may take some getting used to for some of you, and certainly my typing program hates me, but this is not a mistake. I don't address it often, and there's no real need to elaborate in the story so far, but Raph is pangender, in current Western modern terms. For Enochians, there is no real need to elaborate beyond "fernan" unless someone is fernan male or fernan female (like Cas is fernan male), because your gender only matters to society at large in terms of pronouns (which they include in introductions) and how you fit into society. Fernan have their own place in society, as do men and women, and the only reason to elaborate further than fernan is if a person fits into two roles, like Cas (both fernan and male). Beyond that, your gender is your business, and that of your partner. This isn't to say they don't have the kind of gender diversity we see in modern times, just that they would find a lot of the questions modern people ask a bit invasive and rude.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a quick refresher (in italics) in this chapter, because we've finally caught up to where the last part ended. If you remember what happened, you can skip the italicized section, but it does lead pretty much exactly into the next scene, so it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and at least skim it. Especially since it's been a year since I uploaded that bit, so...

Kelly Novak née Kline, princess and wife to Prince General Lucifer, did not understand why her husband had come back early from his first real campaign. He had laughed off her concerns, rarely coming home and leaving at all hours of the day or not. He often got messages from cloaked people. He’d spent most of the winter up north, assisting with the skirmishes along the coast, and had seemed excited to get back out again after molting season. The campaign down south was, the Queen Mother had led her to believe, a great honor and Lucifer’s chance to prove himself ready to take over the army. The fact that he’d abandoned it within a month for a supply run and then not gone back concerned her.

Her marriage to Lucifer had been arranged, a chance for her family to gain in prestige, and Kelly was not terribly upset by it. Lucifer was handsome, and he’d always been kind and gentle to her. But she’d seen the way he treated those beneath him when he thought no one was looking, and it troubled her. Servants to their household sometimes disappeared for no reason she could understand, only to be replaced just as mysteriously. Kelly had learned not to question certain things. She was not unhappy here, and sometimes it was all a nobleperson could ask, that the marriage their parents arranged for them did not result in unhappiness.

So when she realized she had conceived, Kelly was sure it would be met with joy. After all, her child would be the first of the royal grandchildren, a cause for celebration. Kelly knew she could go to the Queen Mother, who would happily tell all of the news, but she wanted her husband to be the first to know. She was only three months into the pregnancy by her count, though she had not gone to anyone to test and confirm. She had hoped to share in the procedure with her husband.

Kelly had not expected to find her husband deep in conversation with another Enochian when she came to his office. She had not heard anyone come in, which meant they had not arrived through the front entrance. That was unusual in and of itself, but then to have the person in question not introduce emself to the lady of the household was a lack of courtesy beyond pale. But what really got her attention was the way the other person was leaning over her husband. 

Lucifer was seated in his chair, leaning back against the backbar and headrest. She couldn’t see his expression, but the other person was glaring menacingly. She did not recognize em by name, though she had seen em around before. E was balding, what hair e had left nearly white, with steel-grey wings that were no longer as full as they must have once been. Er skin was pale ash, with piercing eyes. 

“This had better work, Highness,” the person snapped.

“Calm yourself, Zachariah,” Lucifer said. “Of course it will.”

“Easy for you to say. It’s not your head on the chopping block if this all goes down draft,” the man responded. “My son is watching the traitor in Cecropia, just as you demanded, and I’d rather he not take the fall for you.”

“You think I’m not taking as much of a risk as you, if not more? If our plans fall through and Castiel is left alive, we’ll _all_ be put up for treason against the crown,” Lucifer said. “Don’t worry so much. I have it all in hand. Mikey will be taken care of within a month.”

Kelly gasped. Michael would be _taken care of_? What could that mean? And Zachariah… That was Uriel’s foster father; she remembered Castiel mentioning him. What was her husband into? 

“What was that?” Both Enochians jerked at the noise she’d made, and with a fear exacerbated by her knowledge of the life growing within her, Kelly dashed for the nearest balcony and took flight. Whatever was happening, Castiel was in danger, and he was innocent. She had to get to him, and quickly. 

*****

She was nearing the Enochian border, hours later, when Kelly realized she did not know where she was heading exactly, and worse, she had no supplies. She landed in Haefenton, dressed only in her house clothing and jewelry. She stood at the gates of the main marketplace, uncertainty written across her face, when an arm landed across her shoulder. 

Kelly promptly screamed.

“Whoa whoa, sister, it’s all good!” said a familiar gold-framed face. 

“Gabriel,” Kelly said, somewhere between relief and fear. She didn’t know if she could trust him, but he might be the best way to get where she needed to be.

“The one and only. And you, my dear, are a long way from home. In your housecoat no less!” Gabriel raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”

“I… I need to get to Ophidai City,” she said, hedging her bets. 

“I can arrange for a carriage to leave in the morni--”

“No! No, I need to go now! Immediately! You don’t… you don’t understand. Your brother… It must be a secret! I can’t--” Kelly was bordering on hysteria when Gabriel interrupted her.

“Slow down, girlfriend! What’s the concern here?” 

“I can’t… I can’t tell you. I don’t know if I can…” Kelly slammed her jaw shut, covering her mouth, eyes wide and terrified.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her and then nodded. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to bring you a traveling outfit, a map, and some supplies. Wait until the cover of night, and then take off. Follow the river until you’re well out of Enochia; it will help hide your travels, since so many others travel along the river as well. Don’t stop, don’t talk to anyone until you find Balthazar or Castiel. Do you understand?”

Kelly nodded mutely. Gabriel sighed.

“My brother has been up to something for a while, but I haven’t been able to figure out what. I won’t ask you to tell me now, though if you think you can trust Castiel, make sure he knows. And if this proves me to you, send word to me as well,” Gabriel said. “For now, here’s some money. I won’t ask you to trust me. Find a place to rest; you look awful. Meet me at the gates at sundown, and I’ll have your supplies.”

Kelly thanked him, and took his money. She found a cheap inn, one that was willing to trade her clothing for something more presentable, and napped for several hours. At sundown, she met Gabriel. Her stomach roiled, refusing all food, and she feared for the child within her. But she couldn’t stay where she was, so she took his supplies, dressed in the clothing he’d provided, and took off towards the river. Kelly knew she wouldn’t make good time, but flying along the river bank should help keep her aloft. Long distances alone were hard for anyone, but Kelly was not a trained courier or warrior, and had never been required to learn.

It didn’t matter. She had to get there, and as quickly as she could. She wouldn’t be safe until she did. Maybe no one would be.

It was time to fly.

*****

_Dean led Cas out into the wide stage of the temple. To one side were the Queens, the Advisors, and several other representatives of the Cecropian tribes. To the other side was the Leviathan delegation, carefully separated from everyone else. Beyond their physical differences, the Leviathan stood out with their clothing choices as well. The Leviathan wore close-fitting black trousers, with long black jackets over white shirts. The one just in front of the others had red trim and a red ruffled ascot, while the other two were in more muted dark green and blue. The leader carried a cane, though it did not seem to be functional. The dark colors and intense detail to minute effects contrasted sharply with the Cecropians, who largely wore loose, brightly colored clothing that drew attention to their natural beauty and ornamentation._

_Below, in the pavilion, the populace of the city spread out, filling up the area. Everyone was eying the Leviathan with suspicion, while attempting to appear as though they weren’t. The guards were more plentiful and obvious than Cas ever remembered seeing them, and he wasn’t surprised._

_“Castiel. We have been honored today by the arrival of our neighbors from the sea. Emissary Richard Roman and his entourage, Cameron Gaines and Edgar Collins,” Mary said. Cas was impressed at her composure._

_“Please, please. Call me Dick,” the leader said. “It is an honor to meet such a lovely morsel. Isn’t it, Cameron?”_

_The Leviathan beside him nodded with a smile, one that started off natural enough but soon the invisible seams that hid the rest of his mouth split, and his grin was as wide as his head. Cas bowed slightly, as Dean growled softly beside him. “The honor is mine. I believe we have a ceremony to continue?”_

_“Quite!” Dick said. “It’s going to be such fun.”_

_Cas highly doubted that._

*****

A major part of the ceremony, it seemed to Castiel, was simply naming and acknowledging all the tribes whose representatives were on stage. Then there was praying, which was long and involved quite a lot of audience participation. Cas followed Dean’s lead, bowing or raising his arms when his husband did. Then came the blessings, performed by the priests. Even with his supports, Cas’s wings were weary, and he longed to be able to sit down.

Finally, the Queen Mothers, together with the head priest, called Cas forward to the center of the platform. “Our family has been blessed this year to have gained a new member. The Crown Prince has taken a spouse, Castiel Winchester née Novak of Enochia!”

The crowd cheered as everyone on stage, except the Leviathan, bowed to Castiel. The Queen Mothers shared a glance at each other, and then turned to the delegation of Leviathan.

“Is there a reason you do not acknowledge our new member?” Queen Mary asked.

“Oh, only a small issue, m’lady,” Dick replied. “It’s just that well. Here you are with this treaty with Enochia, which you never consulted us on. We are, of course, your _closest_ neighbors.”

Cameron and Edgar both nodded, smiling in a way that was more ‘showing teeth’ than it was about friendliness. Cas narrowed his eyes at them.

“We have no agreement with you that would require such consultation, Delegate Roman,” Mary replied. “Who we invite into our family is no one’s business but Cecropia’s.”

“Ah, but how can you truly cement such a treaty with a union that can never bear fruit?” Dick asked. “After all, both members of this union are _men_. It is _unnatural_.”

“Love is never unnatural,” Kate replied.

“This is not love. This is a _political_ move. I see no love here. Even were there, two men together is against the decree of Pecuno, He Who Brings Wealth. If a union cannot bear fruit, then it is not recognized by the Leviathan,” Dick said sternly, staring down his nose at Cas with a smirk.

“I don’t give a damn what you recognize,” Dean snapped. 

“Dean!” Mary snapped, but it was too late. 

With a growl, Cameron launched himself at Castiel. Exhausted from the length of time he’d been standing and restricted by his chest binding and wing support, Cas wasn’t able to react as quickly as he would have liked. Though he was able to get partially out of the way, Cameron’s teeth sank into the meat of Cas’s hip, causing the Enochian to scream in pain. Chaos broke out as Cas felt himself falling. He vaguely remembered the warnings from training about the venom of the Leviathan, but then all hell seemed to break loose above him. He wondered when he would land. It seemed he was falling an awfully long time.

The last thing he remembered before the world went dark was Dick’s laughing voice, “We do not recognize the union of the Enochian prince and the Cecropian prince, nor will we until they are able to produce offspring.”

And then it was only the empty.

*****

Dean dashed forward, grabbing Cas as he fell. Looking around, he found Victor in front of him grappling with the Leviathan named Cameron. Cas’s guard Uriel was nowhere to be seen. Pulling Cas to his chest, he glared at Dick.

“If he dies, your life is forfeit,” Dean nearly screamed. Dick only laughed. 

The guards were on the Leviathan then. Dick and Edgar went peacefully, smirking the whole while. Cameron had to be restrained, even as he laughed, because he wouldn’t stop trying to bite everyone. It seemed forever and only an instant before Balthazar was by his side, kneeling beside Cas.

“Dean. Dean!” The Enochian said, finally breaking through Dean’s haze. Normally, Dean might have objected at the familiarity Balthazar showed, but the Enochian was the only one who might know how to help.

“How did you…” Dean began, knowing he sounded lost.

“I was in the audience, Highness. It’s not important. I’ve sent Ambriel for supplies. We have to get somewhere private, Highness. Can you move him?” Balthazar asked. 

Dean nodded, carefully lifting his husband into his arms. Vaguely, he noted that a priest was leading Balthazar deeper into the temple, into areas generally off-limits to even the royals. He might have been more curious, but he only had thoughts to spare for Castiel. When they got into a small room, possibly a prayer room from the look of it, Balthazar motioned Dean to lower Cas onto a mat. Minutes or years later, Ambriel, Akobel, and Hael arrived, carrying a basket of supplies. Dean watched as Ambriel and Akobel began cutting away Castiel’s fancy clothing, exposing the wound in all its grotesquity. 

A finger snapped in front of him. Dean looked up, lost, to find Balthazar staring down ( _down?_ ) at him. He realized he was practically laying on the floor. “Highness. Hael is the fastest flyer we have. Akobel checked with the Queens, and you don’t have the ingredients for the antidote this far inland. Hael can’t get the antidote and get back in time for Cas to not need major medical intervention he can only get at home. He has to go back to Enochia, immediately. I’m sending Hael now for Raphael. You need to arrange for transport for him, immediately. Understand?”

“I’ll do it. I’ll get him there,” Dean said firmly. Balthazar nodded.

“Keep my friend safe, Dean,” Balthazar said.

Dean could only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> née - word acknowledging a spouse's former name before being married. Gender neutral way of saying "maiden name"
> 
> Pecuno - "He Who Brings Wealth" Male monotheistic deity of the Leviathan. Pecuno shows his blessings on his people by granting them vast wealth and power in their lives, therefore those with the most wealth are granted more political and theological power, which in turn gives them more blessings from their god. Therefore, any marriage that wouldn't produce more offspring to produce more wealth isn't recognized.
> 
> Note: Yes, I'm leaving you in a terrible place. I'll update again in a few days, which... won't necessarily make it better but! Cas Does Not Die.


	4. Chapter 4

When the shouting began, Kelly looked fearfully at the door. Benny shifted. He wasn’t sure what this was, but he didn’t think it was anything good. Carefully, he moved in front of Kelly, determined to protect her if nothing else.

So when Uriel burst in, Benny was ready. 

“Princess! Come with me!” Uriel said firmly, attempting to move around Benny. Larger than the Enochian, Benny had no trouble preventing Uriel from getting near Kelly. She clung to Benny’s back, whimpering.

“Don’t let him take me, please,” she stammered softly near his ear. Benny nodded.

“Her highness is plenty safe here with me, friend,” Benny said to Uriel, keeping himself between the two Enochians. 

There was a moment when Benny thought Uriel would be reasoned with. The Enochian seemed to be considering his options, and Benny was hoping that they could sit down and talk about this. Kelly was spooked, but surely whatever her fears were, they didn’t include her brother-in-law’s personal bodyguard.

Then Uriel growled and pulled his blade, and Kelly screamed. 

Benny might have been without his weapon, but his claws were still sharp. He didn’t hesitate. The fight was over quickly. Benny might have attempted to be merciful, but with a foreign princess in the room at risk, he couldn’t chance it. Besides, if Kelly were to be killed, it would only be his word against Uriel’s that Uriel had done it. The Cecropian Queen Mothers would believe him, but it was unlikely anyone else would, and their hand would be forced. 

In the end, Uriel lay at his feet, gurgling as he tried to breathe past the hole in his throat. Kelly had pressed herself into Benny’s back, and was sobbing softly. 

“Well, fuck,” Benny said. “You okay back there, princess?”

He felt the woman nod against him and he sighed. “A’ight. I’m gonna have to clean off my claws, an’ then we’re gonna get someplace safer, okay? Can you walk?”

Benny felt another nod. Kelly whimpered when he knelt down and cleaned his claws and hands on Uriel’s clothing, but she let him do it. Then he stood back up, turning so he could take the woman into his arms. The sobbing began in earnest again as he hid her face against his torso, and he sighed. Attempting to travel with a sobbing foreign princess was not going to work at all.

Just then, a knock came at the door. 

“Fuck,” Benny muttered, and then called, “Who’s there?”

“It’s Balthazar, Benny. We’ve had some trouble and could use your help,” came the Enochian’s voice.

“Ah, well. We’ve had a bit of trouble in here, too,” Benny replied. “Y’might want to come in.”

“It can’t possibly be--” Balthazar began as he walked through the door, and then stopped at the sight that confronted him. “...all right, it does seem like you had some problems here. Would you like to explain why my best friend’s bodyguard is dead in here instead of watching out for Castiel?”

“Funny story, actually--” Benny started.

“It’s my fault,” Kelly said, lifting her head from Benny’s side. “It’s all my fault. I tried to get here earlier, I knew something was wrong, I knew it.”

“Highness, do you... “ Balthazar started, and then shook his head. “What was Uriel doing here?”

“He tried to kill the princess here,” Benny said. 

“Blast,” Balthazar said. “This just got a whole lot more complicated. ...Can you stay here with her? I’m gonna have to get more people involved in this.”

Benny nodded, and Balthazar sighed. He kicked Uriel’s cooling body, and then headed out the door. Benny pulled Kelly away from the body and the door, settling down behind some storage containers and pulling the princess into his lap. “This okay, princess?”

Kelly nodded. “Benny I’m… I’m pregnant.”

This day couldn’t get much better, Benny supposed.

*****

Balthazar walked back out towards the stage area. Already the Queen Mothers and Regent Singer were helping organize the evacuation. Hael was gone, and Akobel met him as he walked.

“Sir, we’ve done all we can for the Prince, but without someone more skilled…”

Nodding, Balthazar kept moving. “Thank you, Akobel. Have they arranged for transport yet?”

“Crown Prince Dean has taken the Prince and headed out with his bodyguard Victor,” Akobel replied, falling into step with Balthazar. “Ambriel has returned to the castle to pack food and supplies, and will fly out to meet them as soon as she can. Hael has left for Fleamdom, with a note signed with the Crown Prince’s seal that she is to have any supplies required on her journey, to be compensated by the Royal Family.”

“Good. Do you remember the room Castiel used to get ready before coming on-stage?” Balthazar asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“I want you there, immediately. Stand guard at the door, do not enter, and let no one through until I return. Understand?” Balthazar glanced to Akobel, who nodded smartly. With a word, the Enochian turned and ran, using his wings to both propel him forward every few steps and keep his balance. Balthazar trusted Akobel; Benny and Princess Kelly would be safe.

He then stepped in front of Queen Mary and bowed low. “My Queen, a thousand pardons for the interruption, but we have a situation that requires your attention.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, Balthazar, we have a situation here, too,” Mary snapped. Then she glanced at Kate and Bobby. After a moment of silent communication, as Balthazar waited silently, she sighed. “All right. What’s going on?”

“If My Queen would follow me?” Balthazar asked, still keeping his head bowed deferentially.

Mary gestured, clearly annoyed. Balthazar did not give her a chance to change her mind. Turning, he headed for the room he’d sent Akobel to guard. “This way, My Queen.”

*****

Mary did not know what she was expecting to find when Balthazar ordered his servant aside and led her into the room, but her son-in-law’s bodyguard on the ground dead was not it. Turning to Balthazar, she raised an eyebrow.

“Can you explain?” she asked. 

Then Benny stood up from behind a pile of temple storage, holding an Enochian woman in his arms, and Mary covered her face. 

“It’s a bit complicated, ma’am,” Benny said.

“I have no doubt about that,” Mary replied. “Let’s go somewhere less… bloody. Balthazar, can your man at the door be trusted?”

“Yes, My Queen,” Balthazar replied, bowing again.

“All right. Benny, grab temple clothing there for you and your guest, and we’ll head for the castle. You’re not quite shaped right, but it’ll have to do,” Mary said. “We’ll get this worked out.”

*****

“So let me get this straight,” Mary said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “You are Prince General Lucifer’s wife. You came here, alone, to attempt to warn us of an attack, but were too late. Now, Castiel has been attacked, and may die. And Uriel, the Enochian bodyguard my sons have trusted for months now, vanished from _my boy’s side_ and came to murder you.”

“That’s… about right, yeah,” Benny said, glancing at Kelly. Kelly nodded, shivering in Balthazar’s arms.

Mary gave Benny a look, and turned back to Kelly. “How do I know you weren’t behind the Leviathan attack?”

Balthazar jerked his head up at that. “My Queen, with all due respect, that is not possible. The Princess is royal by marriage, and is only given as much power as her spouse might allow. Prince General Lucifer is not the… tolerant sort. The Princess would not have the ability to make the sorts of deals required, simply because she would not have access.”

“So we’ve had a traitor in our midst this whole time? What stopped him from acting before this?” Mary asked.

“Probably the Princess’s arrival forced his hand. Or there is more to this than we thought. The Leviathan’s arrival seems a bit inconvenient though,” Benny said.

“All right. You’ve given me cause to trust you in the past, Benny, and Balthazar, my sons trust you implicitly. What do you suggest we do?” Mary asked.

Balthazar and Kelly both blinked. “Ma’am?”

“I’m asking for your advice. Balthazar, with Castiel gone you’re the expert on Enochian relations. I’m here with an Enochian prince critically injured, his guard dead, and an Enochian princess who claims to have fled for her life,” Mary said. “This is a mess big enough to destroy our new treaty, potentially even start a war. I’d welcome some insight.”

“I…” Balthazar paused for a moment, and then came to a decision. “Don’t tell the Enochians that the Princess is here. She came alone; no one knows she was coming that we know of, so there’s no reason to let on. You’ll want to send word of Castiel and Uriel through official means as soon as possible. It would make perfect sense if Uriel fell defending his Prince. It’s what he was trained for.”

Mary nodded. “And what shall we do with Kelly?”

Kelly stared wide-eyed at the other three in the room, clearly terrified out of her wits. Benny spoke up, “I’ll take her in. She can hide out in my place until we know how’ta make her safe. Uriel was there to kill her, after all.”

Mary thought it over. “I’d rather not have any more blood on my hands, and if sending her back condemns her to death, I will not do it. Agreed. Benny, under cover of night you’ll take the princess to your place. Is that okay with you, Highness?”

Kelly nodded. “Yes, Highness.”

“I’ve already uh… been spending some time with Benny, Highness,” Balthazar said. “I can ferry any messages or supplies back and forth as needed.”

With a smirk, Mary nodded. “Very well. Is there anything else I need to know?”

Benny and Kelly shared a look, and then they both shook their heads. “Not right now, Your Highness.”

“Very well. Keep me informed,” Mary said. “I’m needed elsewhere. I trust you boys. Take care of everything, okay?”

Balthazar, Benny, and Kelly all nodded, and Mary turned and left the room. She had a treaty to save, a body to deal with, and three foreign dignitaries to deal with. Her son was on a mission to save his husband, and she might yet lose one of her boys. It was time to wade into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I'm sorry. I know I didn't really resolve anything you were hoping I would, and honestly we've got a lot to get through before Cas's condition is dealt with. It gets worse before it gets better. But I repeat: Cas Does Not Die.


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Akobel and Ambriel finished bandaging Cas, Dean and Victor were off, heading for the gates of the city. Balthazar had said to send for a carriage, but Dean knew that the Cecropians did not have much in the way of transportation. He’d seen what Enochians traveled in, and Agaranese often traveled in coaches or carriages as well. Presumably the Leviathan delegation had arrived in such a vehicle. But when it came down to it, Cecropians didn’t tend to use animals to pull loads. They were too heavy for most carriages Dean had seen, and didn’t tire in quite the same way. 

So instead of waiting for someone to hook up oxen or donkeys to a coach, Victor had found a satchel of sorts, normally used to keep a Cecropian child strapped to a parent’s back while the parent traveled quickly. Cas was a bit large, and his wound and wings made things awkward, but Dean and Victor were able to strap the Enochian to Dean in a way that allowed Dean free movement and kept Cas safe and unharmed out of the way. It was unwieldy at first, but by the time they were out of the city Dean was used to it. 

For the sake of speed, both Dean and Victor were traveling bellies to the dirt, with their torsos almost touching the ground. Both of them kept their arms just in front of them, which allowed them to move obstacles out of the way quickly and use their arms to help pop up if needed. Victor stayed just ahead of Dean, tongue flickering out to scent for dangers, while Dean focused on Cas. Was the Enochian still breathing? He was pretty sure he was. He could feel Cas’s feathers moving gently against his back, but he wasn’t sure if that was from Dean’s own movement, or if Cas was shifting. But he didn’t dare take the time to check.

Dean couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been. He’d known the Leviathan were trouble as soon as he’d seen them. He could have demanded they change the way the stage was set up, demanded that he stay next to his husband at all times… There were so many things he could have done differently, but he’d assumed everything would be fine. Shows what he knew, obviously. 

Cas had told him that the trip from the Enochian capital Fleamdom to Ophidai City had taken most of a week. But that was with a full entourage, stopping nightly. Dean had no intention of stopping for a full night, and he could move faster with just Victor than he could with a larger group. Dean also knew, from what Balthazar had told him, that he only had to get Cas to Haefenton, and Cas’s sibling (brother? Dean wasn’t sure) would meet them there. Haefenton was nearly northeast from Ophidai City, and Dean was confident that he or Victor could get directions as they got close. Balthazar said that Hael could get to Raphael by the end of the day, and that the Princep (Dean wasn’t sure what that meant, but he wasn’t going to ask right then) could be to Haefenton within two days. Dean planned to be there to meet him. 

He would have to push himself harder than he ever had, but Dean didn’t care. All that mattered was getting Cas to safety.

*****

“Prince? Dean, we need to stop,” Victor said, slowing down. 

“Like hell we do,” Dean replied. 

“Dean, night has fallen. It’s too dark to see. It’s not safe. We need to find a place to rest for the night,” Victor said. He had to speed back up to keep up with Dean, because Dean had no intention of stopping.

“Vic, I’m not stopping. If you want to take a break, then fine. Go back and report in to Mom, for all I care,” Dean growled. “But I’m _not stopping_. Cas’s life is on the line, and I’m not going to lose him because I took too damn long.”

Victor sighed. “We need to slow down, at least, Highness. Without Lunula’s treasure shining open and full upon us, keeping this pace will only cause us harm.”

Dean glared at his bodyguard, but couldn’t argue the logic. “Fine. But we keep moving.”

It took a bit of readjusting the straps that held Cas to Dean’s body, but eventually both Cecropians held themselves at their normal height, moving quickly but no longer at the speed that they’d maintained for hours. Dark had fallen completely some two hours ago, and Dean knew that Victor was getting tired. Dean was too, truth to tell. Victor checked Cas while they were shifting the satchel holding him, and declared that there’d been no obvious change. Cas’s breathing was still shallow, labored, but steady, his temperature no different than it had been when they’d left. Skintone was nearly impossible to tell in the dark, but Victor had been fairly sure it had not significantly changed. 

That reassured Dean a little. 

*****

By the end of the second day, Victor was flagging. Dean was too, if he was being honest. They’d finally stopped for three hours just before dawn for a nap, before pressing forward again. But with any luck, they would reach Haefenton by midday the next day, if they just pushed a little harder. Cas’s breathing was getting worse, and Dean could feel his temperature rising ever so slightly. They couldn’t afford to slow down.

But Victor didn’t need to kill himself over Dean’s mistake, either. Dean knew if he was exhausted, if his belly was beginning to get sore with the constant movement, then Victor could only be feeling just as bad, or worse.

“Hey man, if you need to stop, we can put you up in an inn,” Dean said, glancing at his bodyguard. 

“I’m sworn to protect you with my life, my lord. I will not fail in that,” Victor replied.

“No one’s saying you’re failing, dude. We’re close enough, you could hole up here, flag down Ambriel or anyone else Mom sends, report on what’s happening, and then catch up with me tomorrow or the next day,” Dean said. “You’re tired. It’s okay.”

“You’re no better, Dean,” Victor retorted.

Dean just shook his head, glancing back at Cas, still strapped to his back. “I can’t, Vic. You gotta understand…”

Victor’s eyes softened, and he nodded. “Okay. I’ll stop at the next town and find an inn. But you need to take a break, man.”

“I’ll take a break when Cas is safe,” Dean said.

*****

By dawn the next morning, Dean could feel the skin along his belly beginning to tear. Dean had not had time to change into traveling clothes, and most Cecropians did not travel such long distances without protective gear. His skin was not built for it, and he knew his injuries were only going to get worse.

“Cas, it’s gonna be okay, buddy,” Dean said. He hadn’t dared stop, not even long enough to check on Cas. He wasn’t sure that he could strap the Enochian safely back into place, not without help. With Victor safely recuperating two towns back, Dean didn’t have anyone he could trust. 

“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, babe,” Dean said. His body had been complaining for hours. It was all he could do to keep going, and yet nothing within him would allow him to stop. He knew his belly was raw, felt like it was leaving a trail of blood in his wake, but he refused to look back and see how bad it was. If he slowed down, Dean wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep going. As long as he didn’t know how bad the damage was, he could pretend it wasn’t really happening.

“We’re almost there, Cas. Just a few more hours. You can hold on that long, I know it,” Dean said. Cas’s breath was shallow, labored, but Dean wasn’t sure if it was worse than it had been before or if his fears were just making it seem worse. He held onto the hope that Balthazar had given him, that Ambriel and Akobel had been able to tend the wound well enough that Cas could make the trip. He could make this, he knew it. 

“What do you think, Cas? Two more hours? Three? Probably not even that,” Dean said. Movement was mechanical now. It was all about moving forward. The Heahmor Mountains had been in sight for a long time now, but they finally seemed to be coming closer. Dean was sure he could see the foothills now. It was only a matter of time. Pain was so constant now he didn’t even notice it. All he could focus on was Cas, and his destination.

“I think I can see it, Cas,” Dean said. He’d traveled through the last Cecropian town some time ago. Hours? Maybe. He wasn’t sure anymore. Time didn’t matter anymore, only movement. He couldn’t focus on Cas; he wasn’t even sure his husband was still breathing, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was moving forward.

“We’re here, Cas. We’re gonna get you help, babe. Just hold on,” Dean said. He could hardly straighten up, but he managed. The houses were all built so that Dean couldn’t get into them even if he’d been at his best. He wasn’t even sure how to knock. The Enochians he saw all shied away from him, fleeing before he could talk to them. But it didn’t matter. He was here, and Raphael knew he was coming. He just had to find the Enochian royal he’d never met in a town filled with Enochians. No problem. “Just hold on.”

Then, seconds, or maybe hours later, there was a fierce-gazed dark-skinned Enochian blocking his way. 

“Please, do you know Raphael?” Dean asked. 

The Enochian almost smiled. “I am who you are looking for.”

“Oh thank Lunula,” Dean said. Then it all went dark.

*****

When Hael had arrived, bringing news of er brother’s injury, Raphael had gathered up all er supplies and equipment, grabbing one of er assistants to help er carry it all. E had a safehouse in Haefenton, where e handled medical issues of a more delicate nature. Raphael had a strict policy of discretion, but still there were times it was best that the Medic Princep was not seen leaving someone’s house, nor the patient leaving the Princep Medic’s primary clinic. Er mother knew about er safehouse, but nothing more than vague details, and she did not want to know. It was easier for Naomi to claim ignorance when she truly was ignorant. 

Neither Hael nor Balthazar was well-versed in medical matters, and Raphael couldn’t be sure exactly what condition Castiel would be in when he arrived, but Hael had been able to explain roughly the circumstances of Castiel’s injury. E knew e needed supplies for a bite wound. A Leviathan rarely latched on during biting (as opposed to an Agaranese warrior, who if forced to use teeth would come away with a pound of flesh to show for it), so Raphael could assume that there would be little in the way of tearing wounds. But Leviathan venom was a nasty business, and more potent via bite wound than when it was coated on their arrows or knives. Royal medics had developed antivenoms decades ago, as well as countermeasures for when the remedy couldn’t be taken immediately. 

Ambriel, like all royal handservants, was trained in medical basics, which did include such countermeasures. If she was able to get Castiel to Haefenton within six days, Raphael was fairly sure that recovery would be possible, if the bite and venom was all that needed tending. But infection could set in on even the best tended of wounds, and days spent on the road risked that further. If there were other wounds, possibly from Castiel’s attempt to defend himself, that could change things as well. So Raphael had packed er supplies with a wide range. 

Then it was just a matter of getting to Haefenton and setting up. Normally Raphael might have two or three patients to tend to in Haefenton and more in Fleamdom, but in the interest of protecting er brother, Raphael had made other arrangements for those in need. 

Raphael did not stoop to worrying. It would do no good. Ealdra would provide Er blessing or E wouldn’t, and Anna, as Princess Cleric, was in charge of the prayers. 

E repeated that to emself as e reorganized er supplies for the fourth time since arriving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: Raphael, as fernan, uses the pronouns e/er.
> 
> Lunula: Cecropian goddess of the moon


	6. Chapter 6

The Cecropian prince’s arrival, alone and injured, shocked Raphael to er core. He had no entourage, no guards, and few supplies, and he had made it to Haefenton in three days, if Hael’s recounting of events was to be believed. Certainly Hael had made it farther, faster, but she was not tethered to the earth. E had gotten word of a strange Cecropian in the city asking for em, and had gone to meet em in hopes that e had word of Castiel. The fine clothing the Cecropian wore, though damaged from days on the road, and the ceremonial crown gave away the prince’s identity, even if Raphael had not familiarized emself with all of the Cecropian royal family’s descriptions when er brother was married into it.

When Dean collapsed, Raphael could see that Castiel had been carefully strapped to his back. Though Dean’s fall had jarred Castiel, Raphael could see that er brother had been bound in such a way to keep Castiel’s wings comfortable and out of the way, and his body secure. A great deal of care had been taken in the attachments. 

In the next instant, Raphael sprang to action. E now had two patients, because e would not turn away er brother’s rescuer, and Dean would not be easy to move. 

*****

Dean’s consciousness came back to him in pieces. There was a sound, movement that was vaguely familiar and yet strange to his ears. A cloth placed over his eyes, cool and damp. Sharp, bitter smells that Dean couldn’t place.

Then, finally, a wave of pain that insistently pulled at him, forcing him out of the darkness. With a groan, Dean opened his eyes.

“Wher---?” Dean tried, though it was less a question and more a moan.

“Shh…” A voice said, and Dean blinked up at the source.

“Who’re you,” Dean slurred, and his vision slowly cleared. The light in the room was dim, and Dean wasn’t sure if that was because the windows (were there windows?) were covered or because it was after dark. The person the voice belonged to shook his (maybe her? Dean was quickly realizing he couldn’t actually tell the difference right now) head. 

“My name is Princep Medic Raphael, pronouns e/er. You are in Haefenton, and safe,” the person said, and Dean could see, now, the wings extending over er back. Enochian. 

With a start, Dean tried to leverage himself up. “Cas? Where’s Cas? Is he okay? I need--”

Raphael gently pushed Dean back down onto his back. “Castiel is recovering. Right now, what you need to do is focus on healing yourself.”

It dawned on Dean that while his upper body was lying comfortably in a nest of pillows, his tail was bracketed by something, wrapped tightly and unable to move, with his vulnerable belly held exposed. Panicking, he began to flail, trying to free his tail.

“What… What’s going on? Why am I tied down? I need to see Cas! I need--!!”

Raphael hissed, extending er wings to their full extent and using them to leverage er weight to keep Dean pinned to the cushions beneath his back. “Prince Dean, please, calm yourself. You are safe. Castiel is safe. I give you my word that everything is being done to protect you both, but you need to _lie still_. I will explain your injuries, but only if you are calm.”

Dean stared wild-eyed up at Raphael, pulling in air so fast he was sure he was going to pass out. The Enochian Princep (he really needed to ask Cas about that word when he woke up. If he woke up. Oh Ethero) shifted one hand from Dean’s shoulder to grab Dean’s hand and rest it against er chest.

“Feel my heartbeat? We need to make your heart beat slow and sure, like mine,” Raphael said.

“I can’t!” Dean responded.

“Why not?” 

“I have two hearts!” Dean said, panicking. “I can’t make only one heart beat like yours!”

Raphael smiled, though Dean wasn’t sure what he’d said that was funny. “Very well. We need both of your hearts to beat slow and sure. Is that acceptable?”

Dean nodded, beginning to pant. Before he could ask more questions, Raphael began to speak again.

“All right. Breathe in for my count okay? In, 1. 2. 3. 4.”

Dean sucked in air like he was dying.

“Good. Hold that breath for me, 1. 2. 3. 4.”

Dean did as he was told, puffing his cheeks out. Raphael nodded encouragingly.

“Now out slowly, on my count. 1. 2. 3. 4.”

Dean tried to release his breath slowly, though it came out more as a burst than a stream. Raphael didn’t chastise him though, only led him through the exercise a couple more times, and to Dean’s surprise he found that he could feel his hearts slowing, his breathing calming, and his mind slowly clearing. Finally, Raphael released him, settling onto the cushions next to Dean but no longer holding him down.

“Better?”

Dean nodded, not quite trusting his voice yet. Raphael smiled, then began gently prodding at Dean, listening to his chest and checking his forehead. While e worked, e began to speak.

“You are currently resting in my clinic. You arrived yesterday, and have been asleep since. It is now early morning, and not even Eald has awoken the sun. Your clothing was ruined, and has been taken away. Your upper body was only mildly injured, and has been treated. One of our thinner members of the community was able to donate some clothing to cover your torso for now.” Raphael moved down Dean’s body as e spoke. Once Dean’s hands were freed he patted his chest, finding the unfamiliar clothing covering him. 

“As for your tail, that is where things get a bit more difficult. Your wounds are extensive, and many have had dirt ground deep into them. I was able to clean them thoroughly and have packed them as best I could with clean moss, herbs, and honey. Several of your wounds would heal better if I could sew them shut, but unfortunately your skin is quite tough,” Raphael said, carefully unwrapping the bandages on Dean’s tail. “We immobilized your tail in order to prevent you from opening the wounds further. I am sorry for the panic that caused, but it was necessary. Our medical needles have proven unsatisfactory for use on your tail. I tried to send for a doctor over the border, but it seems that word of Castiel’s injury has sparked fear in the capital, and my mother called for a border closure.”

Dean slowly nodded, watching as Raphael checked his wounds and replaced the dressings. E was quick and efficient, but still gentle. Now that Dean could think clearly, he could see that the room was lit with candles. His tail was held inside a trough of some kind, and he could feel the pain from his injuries, but not nearly as sharply as he would have expected to.

“And Cas?”

“Castiel is recovering. That you got him here so quickly is a point in his favor, but he got quite a large dose of Leviathan venom. His other injuries, I assume acquired in the attack, were minor and well-tended, and I have every confidence that they will heal. I’ve administered the antivenom, and all we can do now is wait,” Raphael said.

Dean dropped his head back, covering his face with his arm. “Oh Ethero…”

Raphael gently ran er fingers through Dean’s hair. Dean peeked over his arm, somewhat confused by the familiarity of the touch.

“Please, do not worry, Prince. My brother is strong, and he has Ealdra’s blessing. With the god’s help, he will wake in a few days. For now, he is safe,” Raphael said soothingly, and Dean couldn’t quite stop himself from relaxing into er touch. A Cecropian doctor would never have dreamed to attempt to soothe him in such a way. It was far too familiar, not only for a member of the royal family but for any patient. It was weird, something Dean was not used to, but he found he enjoyed it. Dean shelved that away to deal with later.

“I have commissioned the local artisans to knit a cover for your tail. Once that is completed, we will move both you and my brother to the capital where I have better resources,” Raphael said, moving away as e spoke.

“Why not now? Cas needs--!” Dean began, starting to panic again.

“Calm, Prince. You cannot be moved until I can be sure that your injuries will be protected from further stress, and Castiel is fine for another few hours. The Mistress Needlecrafter has assured me that her guild would have what you need by midmorning. We will be on the road before midday,” Raphael said. “By tonight, you will have your first view of the Unhwilen Lake, something no one but Enochians has ever been able to say. Now rest, Prince. I will wake you when we are ready to leave.”

Dean lay back, watching as Raphael moved about the room, a shadow amongst the dark. He briefly wished the room were brighter, so that he could see his in-law better, see the room better. It didn’t matter, though. The fatigue caught up with him, from his journey and his panic earlier, and suddenly Dean could no longer keep his eyes open. Raphael stopped by his nest one last time before his eyes closed, and Dean could barely hear him.

“Thank you, Dean Winchester. You saved my brother’s life at risk of your own. I will not forget.”

Dean slept.

*****

It was daylight when Dean next awoke, and Raphael was once again at his side. 

“Ahh?” Dean asked, the pinnacle of coherence.

“Prince. Castiel is resting on the mat next to you. I have been called to an emergency consultation here in town. I will not be gone long, and will retrieve your tail covering on the way,” Raphael said. “All other preparations have been made, so as soon as I get back we will head for the capital.”

“Uh. Yeah, okay,” Dean said.

“No one else should come in here to bother you while I am gone. I handled your care as much by myself as possible, to preserve royal privacy. You will be safe until I return,” Raphael said. 

Dean nodded. Lifting himself up slowly, he turned, and saw Cas lying next to him. The Enochian was propped carefully on a ramped mat that supported his back, but let his wings through to drape on the floor below him. He looked so pale and still, Dean was afraid, but his chest rose and fell steadily. Dean started, as Raphael touched his shoulder. 

“Ealdra’s warmth ease you. I will return soon,” Raphael said. Before Dean could return, Raphael had walked to a curtained doorway and stepped through, shutting it behind em. Dean heard Raphael flap er wings, and then e was gone.

Between Dean’s special bedding and Cas’s, Dean couldn’t move much, let alone pull Cas into his arms like he wanted to, but he shifted himself over slowly, until he could twist enough to get an arm around his husband. It wasn’t comfortable, but that didn’t matter. Dean hadn’t truly believed that Cas was okay until now, and he had to touch him, make sure it wasn’t a fever dream.

“Oh Cas…” Dean whispered, dropping his head to Cas’s shoulder. “Oh… Oh Cas…”

They lay like that for a long time, Dean whispering soft apologies and assurances to his husband as Cas slept. Dean only looked up when he heard the sound of wings outside the curtained door. “Raph?”

No one answered, and Dean tensed. Perhaps Raphael was being cautious?

The curtain parted, and an Enochian Dean did not recognize walked inside. They held something in their hand, something sharp. Dean twisted further, his body breaking free of the bindings holding his tail immobile as he propped his torso up over Cas. Another set of wings dropped to the room beyond the curtain and an Enochian with a short blade walked through. Dean growled.

“What’s the knot-tail doing here?” the first Enochian asked. “He said it would only be the prince.”

“Dunno,” the second said, “but it don’t matter. They’re both hurt, and won’t no one miss one more twister.”

The Enochians advanced, and for a moment Dean was sure that the trough containing his tail would be the death of them both, but then it tipped and he could move freely again, if not without pain. With no weapons at hand, Dean circled his tail around between Cas and the attackers, thankful at least that being inside meant the Enochians couldn’t use their wings as easily.

“You will not touch my husband,” Dean said.

The first Enochian rolled his eyes with a chuckle, and suddenly both Enochians were attacking. Dean did not hold back, slamming his tail into the one holding the blade while he grappled with the other. The Enochian held a thin rod, sharp on one end and attached to a full bladder on the other. Wounded, against two attackers, Dean wasn’t sure how long he could hold out. Then there was a sound behind the curtain, and Dean groaned, glancing toward it. He couldn’t handle a third.

He screamed as the rod the Enochian was holding pierced his shoulder, and the Enochian squeezed the bladder, injecting something into the meat of Dean’s arm that burned and pulsed. Then, suddenly, the Enochian was pulled off of him and dragged away. Dean flailed, dropping his body to crouch protectively over Cas again while he tried to figure out what had happened.

The Enochian with the blade was slumped against a wall, the blade on the floor beside them. Their wings didn’t quite look right, and there was blood slowly pooling out from underneath them. The other Enochian was currently being quite efficiently restrained by Raphael, who was using bandages to quickly tie them up. It was only a moment before the Enochian attacker was glaring reproachfully around the room, restrained and helpless. Dean blinked blearily at Raphael as e moved quickly to Dean’s side.

“Prince? I need you to lay back,” Raphael said. 

“Cas..?” Dean asked, still hovering over his husband’s body.

“You protected him well, but you are injured. Lay back, now,” Raphael said, and something in his voice made Dean hasten to agree. Raphael was firm, but more than that, he sounded scared.

As soon as Dean was back in his nest-trough, Raphael began working, squeezing at the wound on his shoulder and extracting a clear liquid with the blood. Dean blinked. “What the..?”

“The call was falsified. I returned as quickly as I could. The syringe contained Leviathan venom, I can tell by the smell from the needle. The assassination of a foreign prince on Enochian soil--” Raphael was cut off as the Enochian e’d tied up spoke up.

“No one gives a shit about the twister.”

Raphael shot a glare behind em before turning back to er work. “Quiet. You will be dealt with shortly, traitor. The penalty for the attempted assassination of an Enochian royal is death, and I am more than qualified to carry out the sentence.”

To Dean, e said, “The dose was small, clearly meant for Cas, not you, not given in totality, and not injected into the correct place for maximum effect. I have no idea how your physiology will handle it, though. Our medicines are centered on our own biology, and I have not had the chance to study outside the country. I could send you back--”

“No! I won’t leave Cas, especially not now!” Dean said, trying to sit up. His muscles seemed to be as limp as new grass.

“I thought as much. Calm, Prince. I cannot bring in a Cecropian medic, especially not after this. I will get you to the capital, with Cas, and we will go from there. The fact that you are not unconscious is a good sign,” Raphael said. “But now, I need you to be quiet and still. The venom will take longer to move through your body if you are calm. I have antivenom that should work on you, and it will help. I need to change your dressings and get your new tail cover on. Can you lie still for me?”

Dean nodded, and Raphael went to work, binding Dean’s shoulder and chest, giving him a small cup of foul-tasting liquid to drink, and changing the bandages on his tail. Dean’s vision blurred in and out, but he stayed mostly conscious. When Raphael pulled out a long piece of cloth, Dean blinked. 

It looked like a shed tailskin, if a single Cecropian could come in a multitude of brilliant colors. There seemed to be no real pattern to the colors. A single color might go for several hands, or stop after only a few. It was also quite a bit less rigid than a shed skin would be, and stopped in an opening well before where the tip of the tail would be. Carefully, Raphael began to slide the tube of fabric up and around Dean’s tail. It was somewhat awkward, but Dean helped almost instinctually, still staring at the fabric in confusion.

“This will keep the bandages from getting dirty and keep them somewhat dry. It will also help keep your tail warm, as it gets quite cold this time of year in the capital,” Raphael said, finally getting the fabric up and over Dean’s akmena. Tugging on thick threads Dean had not seen at first, Raphael tied the fabric securely around Dean’s waist, reminding Dean of the belts he usually wore.

“I will be right back. I need to have the carriage I arranged this morning brought around,” Raphael said.

“What about them?” Dean asked, nodding towards the would-be attackers.

“I will take them with me. You will only be alone for a few minutes. I will be right back,” Raphael said. E stood up, grabbing the unconscious Enochian and dragging them to the curtained door, and then shoving them out. Dean blinked. He knew everyone had been flying into the house, but he had not expected the Enochian to drop down out of sight. Within moments, Raphael had dragged the tied attacker to the door and done the same thing, only this time it was accompanied by first shouted protests and then screams. The sounds, once the Enochian was out the door, seemed to be coming from a lot further away than Dean had anticipated. 

“What--?”

But Raphael was already gone, and Dean was alone. At least this time, he was not bound into the trough. 

*****

Raphael was furious, with emself and with the attackers. E’d arrived just as Prince Dean had slammed the first Enochian into the wall hard enough to knock them unconscious. Raphael had heard the bones in their wings crunch, and was fairly sure that if they survived, they’d never fly again. It didn’t much matter, because e had no intention of setting the bones. When e had seen the syringe the other attacker had, er heart had nearly stopped. Er brother could not survive another attack.

Flinging the attackers from er safehouse probably did not count as humane treatment of the accused, but at that particular moment Raphael did not care. E had not been lying when e had said that e had the right to mete out punishment on the spot, though e didn’t intend to do so. The nearly sixty hand drop might have finished what Prince Dean had started, and Raphael could not bring emself to be upset with that. The other one was very much alive, though they might wish otherwise. Their screams were proof enough of that. 

The carriage e had arranged for was close, and Raphael paid the child holding the alpacas steady an extra coin to deliver a message to the mayor of the town about the criminals outside er clinic, and then drove the carriage team back emself. By the time e got back, the screaming had died down to whimpering. No one had come to investigate, though Raphael was sure the townsfolk were watching from their homes. Raphael did not lose er temper often, but no one wished to cross er when it happened. Raphael knew the mayor’s enforcers would be there soon to collect the would-be assassins. Tying the cart off to one side, far enough from the doorway that the injured Enochians couldn’t get to it for sabotage, Raphael leapt into the air, launching emself up to the entrance. 

“Prince Dean,” Raphael said as e walked through the curtain, only to find the Cecropian holding a blade at him. The prince relaxed slightly when he recognized Raphael and swayed. Raphael carefully disarmed him and propped him up. 

“I’m glad to see your caution, but our ride is ready. Unfortunately, there is no way I can devise to get you down and into the carriage without forcing you to move under your own power at least a little. Can you do that for me, Prince?” Raphael asked.

“Yeah, think so,” Prince Dean said. “Y’can call me just Dean… y’saved Cas, and y’re family, right?”

“Very well, Dean,” Raphael said. “Can you come this way?”

Dean was weak and unsteady, with the venom clearly affecting him. But Raphael was able to navigate him to the entrance and coax him into the basket. Dean took up the whole thing, even though it had been made to hold two adult Enochians comfortably. Grabbing the end of the rope, Raphael wrapped it around er wrist, then again around er back, and then threaded the end through the metal loop on the wall for support. Taking a deep breath, Raphael gave the basket a good kick and it swung out into the air, the rope Raphael held looping up to the top of the doorway and through a series of pulleys. Dean’s weight was still a strain, but it was easier lowering it than it had been getting Dean up there. 

Of course, when Raphael had pulled Dean up, Dean had been unconscious and, more importantly, completely still. Even as groggy and addled as the Cecropian was, shoving the basket off the edge had apparently triggered a panic in Dean, and he flailed, sending the basket swinging wildly. Raphael gritted er teeth, leaning back against the rope to hold it steady. 

“Keep still!” e snapped, and Dean froze. “If you want to get down without injury, then you need to be _still_.”

Dean held the sides of the basket in a death grip, his face pale as snow, and Raphael would be worried about him if e could spare any thought for it. Slowly, watching Dean carefully, Raphael began to lower the basket. When e finally felt the rope go slack, Raphael let go of the ropes and leapt down. E had to coax Dean back out of the basket, as the Cecropian had closed his eyes tightly and was once again panting hard. It took a few moments of breathing exercises, coupled with some gentle pulling, before Dean was prepared to trust that he was on the ground.

The carriage Raphael had gotten was designed to hold a driver and freight, not passengers, but Raphael did not think Dean and Castiel would both fit into a regular passenger carriage. Even with the spaces created for their wings, the types of things designed to carry people just weren’t made for Cecropians, at least not in Enochia. It took a bit to get Dean into the back of the carriage in a way that was both comfortable for Dean and that Raphael was confident would not injure him during the journey. Raphael then packed blankets and cushions around Dean’s tail and under his back, to make him as comfortable as he could. As the panic from the basket ride wore off, Dean began to nod off, and Raphael did nothing to prevent that.

Once e was confident Dean was as comfortable as e could make him, Raphael went back up and used the basket to lower Castiel down. Very carefully, e settled Cas into Dean’s coils, and watched as Dean came to just enough to help pull Castiel into his arms and smooth his brother’s wings into a more comfortable position. The fact that Dean even knew that Castiel’s wings would be uncomfortable and needed adjusting had Raphael smiling softly. Then e packed more cushioning in around the two, and covered them in a felt blanket.

By the time e was ready to leave, the mayor’s enforcers had collected the criminals and gotten er statement. Raphael left word with er assistants who normally helped er there in Haefenton that they were free to return the safehouse to normal operations and to please clean up after er this one time. Then e took up the reins, and navigated the alpaca towards the mountains. E needed to move as quickly as e could, to get er patients to the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a bit longer, mostly to get past most of the... bad bits. I promise, after this Dean and Cas will have time to heal. There's still a fair amount of angst to go around, but Dean and Cas are through the worst of theirs, for now. 
> 
> Notes:  
> Heahmor Mountains: Mountain range that dominates most of Enochia  
> Unhwilen Lake: Lake within Enochian capital city, primary source of water, holds a place in the mythology of Enochia  
> Haefenton: Enochian border town  
> Fleamdom: Enochian capital  
> Ephiniville: Cecropian border town, opposite Haefenton  
> Ophidai City: Cecropian capital  
> Twister/Knot-tail: rude Enochian terms for Cecropians. Knot-tail is the more benign of the two  
> Princep: gender-neutral term for a royal child. Because there are multiple royal children in Enochia, each of them also carries an official title relating to the work that they do for the kingdom, thus Raphael is Princep Medic. Castiel, as the youngest, had not yet earned his title and now that he's been married off to a foreign prince, likely will not have one. We'll meet the others further along, but Michael is the Crown Prince, while Lucifer is Prince General and destined to take over the military when Michael ascends the throne. 
> 
> The exercise that Raphael walks Dean through is real, though there are many variations of it. And yes, Dean (and all Cecropians) have two hearts. One is in their chest, and the other much further down their tail, to help pump the blood back up their full length. Their anatomy is actually pretty significantly different inside than it would seem, with a much larger digestive system, a huge circulatory system, and lungs that extend much further down their body. Most of their digestive system is below the "waist", with the parts that on a human would be intestines and stomach now mostly filled with lung and lots and lots of muscle. And other things, idk, I'm a writer not a biologist, dammit.
> 
> It's important to note that yes, Raphael did not refer to the intruders with the typical e/er pronouns that most Enochians would use for a person whose gender they did not know. Because fernan pronouns are used as a way to acknowledge their deity and their deity's blessings, refusing to use fernan pronouns when gender is unknown is a way to deny those blessings. Keep in mind, however, that if Raphael knew their pronouns, e would have used them. There's a difference between being low-key passive-aggressive and being unacceptably rude. Raphael would only get away with this because the intruders did not introduce themselves (which is unforgivably rude in and of itself, but since they were there to assassinate royalty it probably won't get mentioned outside of scandalized gossipers who will be _just shocked_ that they didn't even introduce themselves before trying to kill the Princes). Even a Princep wouldn't get away without reprimand for knowingly misgendering someone.
> 
> I think I hit all the important points in this chapter that needed explaining, but ask if you have questions. I know this fic has a LOT going on, and I can't just post the appendix like I could with the first part. It doesn't work with a serialized story as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having trouble with the part I'm at, so obviously the solution is to post a new chapter early and hope comment encouragement helps. Don't worry, I've still got plenty more to post before we catch up to where I've written to. I hope this lives up to your expectations!

Dean was only partially conscious for most of the trip to the capital. The road was fairly smooth, his body was well-cushioned, and his husband slept against him. It was enough to lull anyone to sleep, really. Dean knew that it was more than that, though. The venom was making his muscles weak and heavy and his mind foggy, and he had not yet recovered from the strenuous journey to bring Castiel to the border. He’d been running on the edges of his stamina for longer than he liked to think, and he sent a small prayer up to Lunula for giving him the strength to save his husband.

He was fairly sure that the descent from Raphael’s clinic to the ground had been some kind of crazy fever dream. Dean’s imagination had come up with some crazy shit in the past, but a house that started sixty hands up and depended on baskets to get in or out of them had to be the craziest. Give him a nice stable slope any day. Even climbing up into Benny’s house or onto the battlements on the exterior wall in the city wasn’t that bad, though Dean generally wasn’t crazy about it. 

The trip took several hours, and it was early evening by the time Raphael warned them they were close. The temperature had dropped alarmingly. It was still mid autumn, and Dean was already happy for the blankets covering them both. Raphael had stopped once, during which e’d bargained for some straw. Dean had been trying not to complain of the cold, but Raphael had noticed, and soon their top blanket was covered in a layer of straw that helped keep them warm. If there had been any time to pack, Dean would have brought his winter clothing.

When they pulled up to the gates of the city, Dean sat up just a bit, twisting so he could see. The gates were attached directly to the mountain rock around them, built tall and only barely wide enough for a single carriage to go through at a time. The mountain itself seemed to provide the rest of the ‘walls’ of the city, because Dean couldn’t see any other structure. At Raphael’s call, the gates creaked open and Raphael guided the carriage inside.

The city itself was larger than Dean expected. Once past the gates, it opened into a valley of sorts, surrounded by a wall of rock. Dean couldn’t help sitting up further, looking around in awe.

“It’s an old volcano, long dead,” Raphael said. “The crater it left behind shields us and our young.”

“Damn…” Dean said. Where they had entered was one of the higher points in the valley, though not the highest. The whole city was built in steppes, with the houses built tall. From the nearest homes, Dean could tell that the ground floors all seemed to be stables, alpaca and goats peeking out from over their gates. Every house was connected to every surrounding house, all up and down the valley, by huge thick ropes. As Dean watched, he could see several baskets similar to the one he thought he’d dreamed traveling between the houses using the ropes. To one side, near a low spot in the wall, similar ropes stretched out beyond the crater to another peak close by. Dean shivered to think of riding across that span.

At the far end of the crater, there was a huge lake, circled by ice and so dark Dean had no idea from where he was how deep it might be. Near the lake, higher up by the wall of the crater, a huge building overlooked the lake, spires stretching up nearly higher than the wall itself. Raphael pointed there.

“That is the royal castle. We’ll get there within the hour, and get you and Castiel settled in,” e said. 

“...settled in how?” Dean asked.

Raphael arched an eyebrow in Dean’s direction, causing Dean to jut his chin out defiantly. “Primarily, we would like to prevent another assassination attempt while the two of you recuperate. My parents do not yet know that you are here, but I do not plan to separate you, nor will I allow them to do so, if that is your concern.”

 

“...yeah, okay, that was a concern, but mostly how do you expect to get me up into that thing? Does it have a ramp, maybe?” Dean asked.

“We will do it the same way we did last time,” Raphael replied. 

“And how was that?” Dean asked, prodding further.

“The basket, just as we do anyone unable to fly,” Raphael said shortly.

“Oh _hell_ no!” 

*****

“Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down,” Dean chanted under his breath, his eyes shut tightly as he swung gently in the basket. Raphael had taken Cas up first, the castle entrance a full 90 hands up the wall. Despite Dean’s pleas, Raphael had been adamant that the only way Dean would be getting into the castle would be the basket. 

If Dean weren’t scared out of his wits, he’d have been glad to acknowledge the ingeniousness of the architecture. His own body was not even half the height to the door, even stretched fingertips to tail, and his brother wouldn’t be much better off. Benny, as an Argaranese person, could leap quite high, but even that distance would be pushing it for him, and an average Leviathan had no ability to climb or leap a sheer wall. Leviathan were more aquatic, and preferred to drag or lure unsuspecting victims into the water, where Leviathan had an advantage. With a design like this, even a long siege would not force the Enochian royal hands. With their wings, it would only take a few Enochians leaving periodically to gather supplies to feed everyone in the castle.

As it stood, however, Dean greatly wished that he could be safe on the ground right then. If it weren’t for the necessity of guaranteeing Cas’s safety (which he knew was stupid, Cas was home now, and who knew if Cas would even want a husband who couldn’t protect him? _If_ he ever woke up, that was), Dean would have been quite happy to bunk down in one of the villagers’ stables. But Raphael insisted that royalty would not be housed with the animals, so here Dean was.

Curled up in a basket.

Dangling what might as well be hundreds of hands in the air, depending entirely on the physical strength of his host and the rope attached to his basket.

Dean was fairly sure he was going to die.

*****

Getting Dean into the castle was easier than into er clinic back in Haefenton, if only because Raphael was able and willing to call on quite a number of servants to help er pull the rope up. Having several people meant that the process was much more straightforward, and allowed Raphael to be at the basket when it came into view above the platform, ready to steady it and pull it into the building. Dean was tense, gripping the sides too tightly, and Raphael worried that he might tense hard enough to aggravate his belly wounds, but e didn’t say anything. Once the basket was safely pulled inside, the mooring ropes were coiled and hung to the side, and the basket placed off to one side.

Raphael thanked er servants and the castle rigger who oversaw the construction and usage of the royal lines and ropes. She had several apprentices and a few masters who worked underneath her, and she worked closely with the city rigger. Rigging and ropemaking were highly valued professions in Enochia, and it never was a good idea to annoy the person who controlled the ropes, not even if one was royalty. Dean, after a few minutes of shaking, seemed to come back to himself, and followed Raphael’s example. It was a pleasant surprise to all the Enochians, and Benjamin, the rigger, even cracked a small smile when she accepted Dean’s thanks. 

Dean was quiet as Raphael led him to er clinic. Because the clinic served as a place to bring emergencies, as well as housing for the sickest, it was not far from the entrance Raphael had chosen. There were other entrances but none close enough to er clinic. There was a small arena for hosting foreign visitors as well, though it had not been used in living history, which would not have required use of the basket. But it would have meant Raphael traveling often to see to er patients, and e saw no real point in that. Naomi would probably have words, but Raphael had no doubts as to Dean’s loyalty to Castiel.

Once inside the clinic, another problem posed itself. In Haefenton, Dean had needed to be restrained for his own safety, and he’d spent most of the time there in a converted feeding trough to keep his belly up for treatment. Now that Dean was awake, however, it was unlikely that he’d submit to that again, and Raphael did not have enough understanding of the Cecropian biology to be able to safely put him into a state of torpidity, if that was even possible with Cecropians. 

However, beds in Enochia consisted of either hammocks that were buttoned shut and allowed one’s wings to slide through the back to hang below, or mattresses with roughly six-hand holes near the top. These mattresses allowed the physician to slide the patient’s wings through the holes, so that the patient did not damage or break their wings by their own prolonged body weight. For the sick, the mattresses were preferred because they allowed caretakers to easily work on and maneuver the patient, so as to clean them, dress wounds, and avoid pressure sores. 

The problem, of course, was that Dean was easily twice as long as the average Enochian was tall, and none of the mattresses would contain him. Er mother had spoken of giant pads on the floor for bedding in Cecropia when she’d returned from Castiel’s wedding, but Raphael did not want erself or er apprentices working on Dean on the floor. It was not sanitary, for one. After a hushed conference with several apprentices and interns, they finally worked together to push several beds together, and then Dean lay across them, folding his body in half so as to fit. 

Finally, with Dean and Castiel both safe, Raphael breathed a sigh of relief. Now e could focus on care.

*****

“So uh… Raphael?” Dean asked.

“Yes, Dean?”

“Why isn’t Cas waking up?” Dean was partially curled on top of three beds, his torso supported by a myriad of different pillows. Two of Raphael’s helpers, Enochians Dean couldn’t remember names or pronouns for and wasn’t even entirely sure he could tell apart, were carefully pulling the tail covering Dean had received in Haefenton off of Dean’s tail. It had been warm, and while the temperature in the building was comfortable, Dean was already missing the protective coat it had provided. Underneath, the bandages were in desperate need of being changed, and Dean had to suck in a breath as the apprentices began to carefully work the bloodied bandages off.

“Castiel is currently in what we call _torpid_ ,” Raphael said. E raised er hand when Dean opened his mouth to ask another question, and Dean’s mouth snapped shut. “Enochians, when in time of famine, extreme cold, or extreme physical distress, can go _torpid_ in order to conserve energy. It means our bodies slow to a false death. We’ve learned how to induce such a state medically, which allows us to survive injuries that otherwise would cause a quick death. Often it’s used in cases of farming accidents or battle wounds, when help cannot arrive quickly, but with quick attention the wound might not be fatal.”

“Holy shit!” Dean interjected. “That’s why all the stories call you guys immortal, right?”

Raphael raised an eyebrow, and Dean grinned.

“So like, as a kid we always heard stories about how you could kill an entire army of Enochians, and the next day all the bodies would be gone. But it wasn’t because y’all took your dead off to bury them, like we do, but because none of them had actually died. There’s all these stories about how people thought the army was dead and defeated, only to be attacked from behind on the way home by the immortal warriors,” Dean said. “It’s cuz your warriors went into this _torpid_ thing, right?”

With a slow nod, Raphael replied, “You… bury…? ...nevermind. Ah. It’s likely, yes. Going _torpid_ is a way to prevent an otherwise fatal wound from killing us. Not every fallen warrior would be able to prevent their death by such a method, of course, but yes. It very likely would be the source of such folk tales.”

“Damn. I can’t wait to tell Sammy!” Dean said with a laugh. “He always thought it was an old wyrm’s tale!”

“Right. Well. Back to Castiel,” Raphael said. “Ambriel and Akobel were able to induce such a state, and administer some basic wound care and medication that can help prevent infection and disease, as well as the progress of the venom. What I’ve done is more advanced. I administered the antivenom immediately in Haefenton, and will probably introduce another dose, potentially two, before Castiel wakes. Now, I’m going to wake his body, but not his consciousness.”

“...what?” Dean asked. 

“The venom is painful, and the antivenom often just as painful while it works. But the antivenom needs Castiel’s body to be working at normal speed. So we bring his body out with medication that keeps the consciousness under, so that he does not experience the pain of healing,” Raphael said. “It helps to prevent his body from becoming too stressed with the pain to continue to function.”

“...That’s… all right, so that means he’s gonna sleep for a while longer?” Dean asked.

Raphael nodded. “At least another four days, to get past the worst of the healing, and then we shall see.”

“And he’ll… be okay?” Dean didn’t like the weakness his voice betrayed, but he also wasn’t sure he could live without his husband now that he’d had him. 

“Castiel is strong. Time and healing is what he needs, but with the grace of Ealdra he should be fine,” Raphael said. “You, on the other hand…”

“I’m fine!” Dean exclaimed. Then he grimaced as his belly wounds were finally revealed, and the apprentices working on him began the process of cleaning them again.

“Quite. That’s perfectly obvious. However, if you would allow me to bestow upon you my professional opinion…” Raphael smirked, and Dean scowled at er but gestured for er to continue. “Thank you. You seem to have torn up quite a bit of skin along your underside. Normally, we would clean the wounds and sew them shut, pack the bandages with herbs, and hope for the best. However, your… skin is quite tough, and none of the needles we have can go through the skin easily without risking further damage. I have to ask, how would you normally heal from such a wound?”

Dean shrugged, staring down at his damaged belly. “I guess normally we’d induce another shed, but I just went through one, so that’d be a bit risky. We’ve got lacquer needles to help with big wounds like this though… Probably have to scrape some of the worst damage off.”

Raphael looked horrified. “ _Scrape_ …?”

“Yeah,” Dean said. “I mean, you said the borders were closed, right? So we’re not gonna get anyone in here that actually knows what they’re doing, right?”

“For now,” Raphael said. “I haven’t yet had a moment to speak with the Queen Mother, but it is unlikely I will be able to convince her quickly of your needs, especially since you are not in, I believe, dire risk of death.”

It wasn’t quite a question, but Raphael did arch an eyebrow Dean’s way in something Dean was fairly sure was er attempt at a question without actually asking. He nodded. Dean also suspected that Raphael wasn’t telling him everything, but Dean couldn’t entirely blame the princep. If a foreign national had attacked one of his brothers in a completely different foreign country, Dean wasn’t sure he’d trust anyone, even the foreigner who brought his brother back.

“So yeah, for now, I can scrape back the parts that will make it heal weird, maybe get your guys helping me with that, and then let the flesh underneath knit back together,” Dean said. “I’ve never done anything this bad before, but I’ve had similar, smaller wounds before I’ve had to do the same with.”

“You mentioned a shed?” Raphael asked.

“Yeah, but it’d put me out of commission for close to two weeks, and no offense but--” Dean began.

“None taken,” Raphael interrupted. “To be quite honest, at this time I would rather you be at the fullest capacity you can manage. Castiel needs you.”

Things were definitely going unsaid, and Dean was getting Significant Looks from Raphael that he couldn’t quite interpret, but he nodded anyway. “I don’t know as much about herbs and shit here, but so long as your guys here can help me with the scraping and bandaging, I heal pretty quickly. By the time Cas is ready to wake up, I should be as healed as I can get for now.”

“Will you be mobile?” Raphael asked. E turned, digging through er tools until e found several small knives and handed them to Dean and the apprentices helping him. Dean nodded his thanks.

“Should be. That tail cover you gave me in Haefenton, it’s ugly as sin but it does the job. I won’t be fast, especially while I have the bandages on, but I won’t be confined here.” Dean paused then, and looked down at the floor several hands below him. “Though this isn’t going to be the easiest place to get down from. Remind me why I can’t sleep on the floor again?”

Raphael sighed. “Because my apprentices cannot be expected to kneel over you when there are alternatives. Our knees are not designed to hold our weight for long periods of time. When you are done being treated we can help you down and work out another solution, but so long as you need treatment, that treatment will happen on this bed.”

Dean rolled his eyes. 

“If that’s all, I need to see to Castiel’s treatment, make sure that my apprentices are doing what needs done, and then report to the Queen Mother. If you require anything, my apprentices are at your disposal,” Raphael said. 

Dean watched er tend to Cas, before e moved off and out of the room. Cas looked pale, his breathing slow but steady, and no one seemed overly alarmed, so Dean supposed he shouldn’t be either. However, Raphael had said…

“Any chance I could get you guys to move Cas a bit closer?” Dean asked. 

The apprentices looked at each other, and Dean smiled hopefully. One of them (Dean blamed his poor memory for their names and pronouns on the venom still lingering in his veins. Raphael had assured him that he was past any danger from it, but still…) rolled their eyes.

“And what would you do with the prince closer, Your Highness?” they asked. Dean really wished he could remember their introductions. Things were gonna get real awkward real quick, he could tell. Stupid fucking memory.

“I’d uh…” Dean paused, and then coughed. “I’dliketoholdhishand.”

The words came out rushed, and so low Dean was sure he’d have to repeat himself, but the apprentice who had spoken chuckled and nodded. Dean couldn’t help blushing.

Within a few moments they’d shifted Cas closer, not enough that they couldn’t get around his bed for treatment, but easily close enough for Dean to stretch a bit and grab Cas’s hand. His husband’s grip was weak, but his hand was warm and reassuring. As Dean settled back against his cushions, he stared at Cas. He wondered, a bit, if this was what Cas felt like watching Dean sleep after meals. 

Dean blamed the venom for the fact that he zoned out, letting the apprentices finish tending to his wounds and bandaging them with only little direction and no help from him. Instead, he watched Cas, memorizing the way his husband looked. If something happened, if this was the last time he saw his husband, he did not want to forget any of it. 

Not a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Torpid: similar to hibernation or a coma, it's a natural state that Enochians can achieve that slows their metabolism. It can help preserve body heat in extreme cold, prevent starvation in famine, and prevent death in extreme physical duress. When it happens unintentionally, it generally means the patient is near death, and it's not always easy to save them. However, the Enochians have learned how to intentionally cause it, both to oneself and to other Enochians, and in that kind of controlled setting it greatly increases the chances of survival.
> 
> Notes on pronoun use here:  
> So Enochians will use e/er for people of unknown gender, but Dean, being Cecropian, uses they/their much like we do. So when in his perspective, you'll notice a lot more they/their. He's not being (intentionally) rude, and Enochians would likely give him a pass or gently explain this if/when someone caught onto it. 
> 
> We're hopefully going to get a chance to get into why some of the things that confused Raph about Dean were so confusing, but not for a while. For now, I'll just say that I have birth, marriage, and death ceremonies roughly worked out for every culture except the Leviathan, which is the only culture I am currently sure none of that will be necessary for the story.


	8. Chapter 8

Andrea smiled when the courier brought her news of a letter from Benny. Although he was no longer her husband under the laws of her province (her parents had seen to that once he’d been forced to flee), he was the spouse of her heart, and having the opportunity to speak with him, even only through letters, lifted her heart. 

If her parents were aware of their communications, Andrea would likely not have been allowed to continue them. The Kormos family watched over one of the smallest provinces in Agares, far from the capital and on the ocean. They were often considered more backwoods nobles, hicks that the more powerful provinces did not see any reason to respect. So when Andrea fell in love and married a common fisherman, her parents were scandalized. When Benny’s past followed him into their marriage and forced him to flee, her parents felt truly justified in their beliefs about her husband. 

It didn’t matter to them that he’d fled in order to protect Andrea and their daughter Elizabeth, nor that they could have prevented his flight had they been willing to offer him the same protection they’d offered their child and grandchild. They only saw what they wanted to see, and that was a peasant husband who abandoned his family at the first sign of danger. Someday, when they were gone, Andrea would send word to Benny and bring her husband home. For now, though, they bided their time apart. 

Benny’s time on the water meant that he’d learned the mariners’ codes, usually transmitted by covering and uncovering a lantern at specific intervals. It was a common enough system in their region to learn, though generally the nobility relied on a servant to transmit and translate when on the water. Before Benny had left, they’d set up a written system based on the mariners’ codes, a series of vertical and diagonal lines at the top of the page. It served as a key for how to read the rest of the letter, so that no matter how innocent the letter appeared, Benny and Andrea could get complicated and secret information back and forth to each other, obscuring even their names. Initially, her parents had read every letter before giving them to her, but after a while, they’d decided it wasn’t worth their time. That didn’t stop Benny or Andrea from using it, however, just in case.

The code at the top of this letter startled Andrea. It wasn’t one they used often, only for the most dire of circumstances. Settling in with a slate and chalk, easily erased without a trace, Andrea began to decode the letter.

*****

It was quite some time later that Andrea finally set down her chalk and read through the decoded letter. The news was dire. She’d known that Benny had managed to endear himself to the royal family of Cecropia, a fact that hadn’t surprised her at all. Her Benjamin was quite the charmer. But it seemed like he’d gotten embroiled in another mess surrounding nobility, and her heart ached for him. But more importantly, there was an Enochian prince who was attempting to get her people to do his dirty work for him. An assassination of the Enochian heir so far from Enochia would not be blamed on traitorous Enochians, but on her own people. Andrea had seen similar, if at a far less grand scale, coups go down. At best, the Cecropians Prince Michael shared space with might share some blame, but Andrea did not think that was how this would go down. Better to blame the Agaranese people than start a war with one’s neighbors, after all. And Andrea did not think it would end there. Cecropia was now an ally of Enochia, and Agares couldn’t afford a war with Cecropia and Enochia on top of their tensions with the Leviathan. 

The other news Benny sent was of the Enochian princess with child on the run from her own people. That, at least, had an easy solution, though Benny had not seemed to have thought of it yet. Her plan was simple, something Benny would appreciate. He’d always said she was the brains to his brawn. It wasn’t true; she’d met plenty of men before him who were all brawn, and plenty who were neither brains nor brawn (but generally believed themselves to be the smartest ones in the room). Benny was in a league of his own, far more intelligent than he gave himself credit for. But brawn was all most people saw, and it meant he was often underestimated. Andrea helped him use that to his advantage. 

In this case, it was easy. Hist last communication had spoken of his casual liaisons with the Enochian Balthazar, and Andrea planned to help Benny use that to hide the Enochian princess’s pregnancy. It wouldn’t be difficult; few people outside of Agares knew much of their biology. 

As for the news of the coup, Andrea knew who to take it too. The MacLeod family owned a small province, but the matriarch was well-respected in Court, with lofty ambitions. Unlike other nobles, however, she did not believe in stooping to violence to get what she wanted, making her ideal for this venture. Her son had connections with the underworld, known for his ability to get any good or information a person might need. Andrea had never personally crossed him, though she suspected his hand in the situation that had driven Benny from her side. However, she knew that at most he’d likely only provided information. The man was more of a wild card, but if a war started, the larger provinces would likely use it as an excuse to take over the smaller provinces, robbing all the MacLeods of their power and likely their lives.

Pulling out a new page, Andrea began to write. It was time for her to request a sojourn at House MacLeod.

*****

Rowena settled her cup of hot cocoa gently onto the table and smiled at the young woman seated across from her. Andrea Kormos gave her a polite, distant smile in return, taking a sip of the bitter liquid. Cocoa was a delicacy, one that even many nobles did not partake of frequently, and sought after outside of Agares. Rowena served it both to make an impression and to gauge her visitors. The fact that Andrea did not appear to be overly interested in the beverage beyond the customary small talk made her curious. 

“All right, my dear. We both know you didn’t come for my cocoa, for all your sweet talk to the contrary. Tell, me, why are you really here?” Rowena asked.

Andrea’s eyes narrowed, and Rowena smiled. She didn’t expect Andrea to smile back. Whatever the girl wanted, Rowena knew she’d need to keep an eye on her come the future. The girl was far smarter than rumors implied.

“Madame MacLeod, I come with information of the utmost importance, a threat to our country,” Andrea said.

“If this news is as important as you say, why not call the Court together?” Rowena asked, taking a delicate bite of the shortbread cookies plated between them. 

“I fear that, as the disgraced only child of a small and insignificant province, I could not command the attention of the Court. I fear that they would not listen to one such as I,” Andrea said, demurely looking at the table. Rowena raised an eyebrow.

“And you believe that I could?” she asked.

“It is well known that you, Madame MacLeod, are most trusted inside the Court, and your word would be taken seriously,” Andrea said.

“Oh, you _are_ good,” Rowena said, laughing. “You will be a fierce member of the Court once you come into your own.”

Andrea raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh, I doubt very much you will ever stoop to begging,” Rowena said. “You _have_ impressed me. I am prepared to listen, though I make no promises that I will act on your words. But please. Call me Rowena. Speak plainly, my dear, and perhaps we can come to an agreement.”

With a smirk, Andrea began to speak.

*****

Crowley knew something was up. For weeks rumors had flown through his channels, Alastair’s troops moving in strange directions before finally disappearing altogether, a truce called on the western coast with the Leviathan, a sudden increase in troops on the Cecropian side of the border, unrest increasing in both Abaddon and Alastair’s provinces. Of course, all of Agares knew of the new treaty between Cecropia and Enochia, and waited uneasily to see what that would mean for Agares. Alastair, in particular, had much to fear from such an alliance, which might serve as an explanation for many things. Crowley wasn’t so sure, though.

Nearly 24 years ago, Alastair had reached out to Cecropia to offer peace. Queen Mary, far more diplomatic than her husband, had agreed to meet. Unfortunately, Alastair’s terms had been untenable. Crowley, though young at the time, had known even then that demanding the Cecropians cede land and resources with only vague promises of a cease-fire would result in failure. The counter-offer Queen Mary had given him, of a province owned jointly by Cecropia and Agares, where both peoples could coexist peacefully with shared rule, had been more generous than Alastair had deserved. The Queen had always been a compassionate woman, however, and the plight of the Agares people had touched her.

Alastair, however, had flown into a rage. He did not see it that way, and placed a curse on the Queen. 

When word reached Agares that Queen Mary was with child, and the pregnancy was not going as expected, Alastair took credit for the illness, and spread word far and wide that Queen Mary would never bear a healthy child again. The rumblings and mutterings had crossed the border and by all accounts King John had been furious. Though Prince Sam was hatched successfully, his health issues and inability to thrive at first were blamed on the Curse Of The Yellow-Eyed Fiend. Prince Sam had eventually recovered, but the damage to the Cecropian Royal reputation had been done, and shortly after, King John and Queen Mary had taken on a third partner, Queen Kate, who had been able to bear a third heir. 

Everyone knew that King John would do anything to have revenge on Alastair for the harm done to his family, and that Alastair blamed the Royal Winchesters for the loss of life to their constant battles with the Leviathan and the sacrilege the Leviathan dealt to their dead if not constantly fought off. But Crowley was sure that whatever was going on now was more than just the normal rumblings of two leaders bent on destroying each other. 

So when his mother requested he come for a visit to share news of their lives, because it’d ‘been so long since I’ve seen you, Fergus,’ Crowley knew something was up. He and his mother weren’t exactly antagonistic, but they typically preferred to roam within their own circles, only coming together when needs must. Crowley had to wonder if it had something to do with the murmurings he was getting from his network. If Alastair was involved, well…

*****

Crowley swirled his pisco brandy in its glass, raising an eyebrow at his mother. Though she preferred the refinement of the cocoa she drank, Crowley had never particularly cared for the drink. “What did you wish to discuss today, Mother? We both know you didn’t call me here to discuss the weather.”

“Can’t a mother show concern for her boy? Why, you act like I don’t care about you at all, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Rowena said. “I just wanted to see my handsome son, is that such a crime?”

Crowley sighed heavily. “Fine. You have seen me, and I am healthy. Is that all?”

“No, of course not you silly boy. But if you insist, I suppose we should get down to business,” Rowena said with a huff. “You will not believe the news I have gotten from our friends down the coast.”

“Has the price of your furs gone up again?” Crowley asked, bored. 

Rowena sighed heavily. “Yes, but that is quite beside the point. The _point_ is, dear Fergus, that the daughter of the Kormos clan has discovered a bit of a conspiracy, and I have a feeling it goes far deeper than she’s aware.”

Sitting forward, Crowley gave a grin that was all teeth and not one bit of mirth. 

“Well now, that _is_ interesting. What would be this conspiracy, Mother?” Crowley asked. 

“Why, only the assassination of Prince Michael as he fights alongside the Cecropians at our borders,” Rowena replied, her sweet smile no less chilling than her son’s.

“Tell me more.”

It seemed his mother did have interesting news, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, so yes. We had to get down to Agares at some point, right? A lot of the plot is happening down there, after all. Got to bring in some more players. 
> 
> As a note, Sam is 22. (Dean is 26, Cas is 20, Adam is 15) However, much like us, they count age at birth/hatch, and between the two months of in-womb gestation plus the year of egg gestation, plus the fact that this confrontation between Mary and Alastair happened before she got pregnant... That's how I got 24 years. Just so there's no confusion there. 
> 
> Also, yes, Rowena and Crowley drink different things than in canon. It's things that are more easily found in their region, and are still as equally pompous for their stature. Keeping in mind that cocoa is not commercially manufactured, so it's a bit of a delicacy. And they don't add sugar to it, so it's not a sweet drink. 
> 
> We'll head back to Enochia after this, but this story will do a fair amount of location jumping. Let me know if it's confusing! I'm trying to pull everything in while still keeping it fairly easy to follow.


	9. Chapter 9

Queen Naomi rarely forced her children to seek her attention formally, but when news came that Raphael had seen fit to bring a Cecropian into the country just before she had ordered the borders closed, she felt she had no choice. It was as private as she could make it, but Raphael still knelt in the throne room before herself and King Joshua, with the royal advisers seated nearby. Though she would never have believed it of any of her children, the possibility that she would have to set charges against Raphael for treasonous actions was too high. She and Joshua couldn’t do this in secret and not lose the faith their people put in them. And honestly, Naomi wasn’t sure she wanted to hide it, if Raphael had deceived them.

Her child did not look up at her until her husband gave the word, and then Raphael gracefully rose to er feet. “My Liege.”

“We have heard the news of the Cecropian prince you have allowed not only across our borders but inside our castle, child. What reason do you give for such actions, after word of your brother?” Joshua asked. 

“I bring word of my brother and of the prince, My Liege. May I speak?” Raphael asked, bowing er head in deference. 

Naomi seethed. “We have heard of your brother’s death, Raphael.”

“Castiel is not dead, My Liege,” Raphael responded calmly. 

As one, every person in the room reeled back, wings flaring out in surprise. Naomi spoke first, her voice breaking just slightly. “My son lives?”

Raphael nodded. “By the grace of Ealdra and the actions of Prince Dean of Cecropia, your son lives, recovering in my clinic. He is under the care of my apprentices as we speak.”

King Joshua smiled first, his face relaxing from firm authoritarianism to his more customary gentle gaze, and he reached over to take his wife’s hand. “Can you explain, my child?”

“Five days ago I received an urgent message from Hael, Balthazar’s guard, that Castiel had come under attack. Akobel and Ambriel were able to administer first aid and induce _torpid_. Hael’s message was that Castiel was being transported to Haefenton. I gathered my supplies and arrived in Haefenton, expecting Castiel in Haefenton tomorrow, as ground transportation can rarely make the trip in less than six days,” Raphael replied. “My brother’s husband, however, did not place Castiel in a carriage as expected. Prince Dean carefully bound his husband to his back and traveled three days under his own power, at great cost to his own health, to make sure that your son, his husband, received the care Castiel needed. Even now the Cecropian Royal Heir lies in my clinic, recovering from the wounds he received in the course of bringing your son safely to our care, more swiftly than I would have deemed possible.”

Naomi did not miss the pointed repetition of Castiel’s marriage, nor the way Raphael pointed out that it was no mere underling who had brought Castiel for care. Raphael’s tone had never changed, but e had always been a master of the understated snub. Normally she might have been angry, but at that moment Naomi was too relieved. Castiel lived, and he was safely in her castle, under the care of the best medics in Enochia. She couldn’t ask for more.

Joshua inclined his head. “Thank you, my child.”

He glanced over to Naomi, giving her hand a squeeze to gain her attention. In his eyes, she could read the error that had nearly cost their son his life. Word had arrived a day ago, and in their grief and anger, Naomi and Joshua had ordered the borders closed. The budding friendship between her people and the Cecropians had been cut. 

Naomi was not ready to trust, yet. Perhaps the prince was simply a traitor to his own country, to his own people. Perhaps it was a rogue faction within his country. Or perhaps her son’s life was forfeit once the prince had the trust of the Enochians and access to their secrets. She couldn’t allow that. But had it taken the typical six days to travel to Haefenton, Castiel would have been trapped on one side of the border, and Raphael on the other.

She had no doubt that, knowing her child, Raphael would have found a way. But it might not have been in time. The thought was terrifying. 

“We need some time to discuss the implications of your actions, as well as the Cecropian prince’s, regarding our son,” Joshua said. “But for now…”

With a gesture from Joshua, the advisers disappeared from the room, and as one Joshua and Naomi stood. “Can we see Castiel?”

Raphael smiled and nodded.

*****

Her son looked small and fragile on the clinic bed, his wings hanging limp beneath the bed frame. Castiel’s arm stretched across a gap between beds, clinging gently to the Cecropian prince’s fingers. The foreign prince lay belly-up, his torso twisted to face Castiel. Prince Dean held Castiel’s hand in both of his own, devotion clear even in sleep. For a brief moment, Naomi’s anger flared. How dare this heathen trespass in her land, in her _home_? But just as quickly it cooled. Joshua stepped from beside her into her view, and brushed back Castiel’s hair.

“Oh, my boy,” Joshua said, relief and affection in his eyes. Naomi moved to stand next to her husband. 

“He will survive?” she asked Raphael.

“Ealdra willing. He is strong, and he reacts to his husband’s touch. He is responding well to treatment, and so long as he continues in this trend, we should be able to wake him in a few days time,” Raphael replied. 

Naomi felt faint, and put a hand to her husband’s arm to steady herself. “Thank Ealde.”

 

Joshua turned to their child. “Raphael, what would you recommend? Should we announce our son’s survival now?”

Raphael paused, and then nodded. “Yes. It would be best that the people know their prince lives. But hold off on any celebrations until he is awake.”

“We will speak with our advisers, then,” Joshua replied, smiling at his child. Raphael nodded. With one final gentle touch, Naomi and Joshua took their leave. It was time to deal with the kingdom. 

*****

Once Dean’s torn belly skin had been filed smooth, the soft tissue underneath began to heal. Raphael’s medical staff was good, even with unfamiliar biology, and kept his wounds packed with herbs and poultices. Dean wasn’t entirely sure what was what, to be honest, but it seemed like every time his bandages were unwrapped, the underskin looked better and better. Most of Dean’s first full day, he dozed in and out of sleep, only stirring to full wakefulness when Cas had to be examined, requiring Dean to let go of his husband’s hand. He’d been vaguely aware of visitors, but they’d not disturbed him any more than the medics or apprentices had, and he couldn’t bring himself to care.

By the morning of Dean’s second full day, he was ready to move. The venom had left his system with no lasting effects, thank Lunula for small favors. As for the injuries from the road, Dean couldn’t deny they were still a problem. He knew that if he were at home, his mothers would have teamed together to strap him to the ground belly-up until he was healed. But he wasn’t at home, and his curiosity about the place coupled with his need to be sure of the security surrounding his husband meant he was very anxious to get out of the room and especially out of the bed. 

After promising multiple people that yes, he would allow them to help him back onto his makeshift bed later that day, Dean got bundled up and carefully three apprentices helped Dean down from his perch. It involved having his tail wrapped in numerous bandages, then putting on the tail cover of many colors, and finally a series of gradually smaller pedestals were placed by the bed, so that Dean could lower himself gently.

He would have preferred a ramp, but no one seemed to have anything long enough to actually work, and this was the next best option, apparently. It was awkward and mildly frightening, because the medics wouldn’t let him go down head-first and use his arms for leverage. Instead, one apprentice held his hands, gently pulling him forward, while the other two held him at his shoulders and helped him gently lower himself to the next platform down. Not being able to see where he was moving and just trusting that the Enochians wouldn’t drop him to the floor was not an experience he wished to repeat. 

Once his fore-tail was safely on the ground though, the rest was easy. He had to adjust his movement to account for the sweater, but it helped remind him that his schute scales were too damaged to function properly, which would hopefully help his belly heal. 

Clear-headed and firmly on the floor for the first time for several days, Dean finally felt like himself. And the first order of business was to get in touch with his mom.

“How do I send a courier to Queen Mary of Cecropia?” he asked. 

The looks the Enchocians gathered exchanged suggested this wouldn’t be as easy as he had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A holiday present for y'all!
> 
> So now the Enochian royalty knows what's what, but news travels slowly when it relies on people moving on foot, so it'll take a bit before Cecropians know. Also, a lot of this is all happening somewhat simultaneously. It's not even been a full week since Cas was injured.
> 
> Torpid: a coma-like state of unconsciousness natural to Enochians under times of stress, injury, or extreme cold.
> 
> Schute scales: scales on the underside of a snake that use a 'walking' motion to allow the snake to move forward in a straight line.
> 
> Lunula: Cecropian royal deity of, among other things, stamina and vitality.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry about the wait, guys. Between the holidays themselves, the sheer amount of hours I worked this last month, and my phone dying, I have just had no time or energy for posting (or writing, but that's another story). So here's a chapter now. Also, my posting days will change a little, as my schedule has changed. So instead of 'usually Thursdays', expect 'sometime Tuesday night.'

Queen Mary cursed under her breath. Victor was on his way home, injured enough to warrant a sled. The rest of the Royal Guards in charge of Dean’s protection and that of his husband had followed Dean and Victor at a quick but far safer pace, and were now bringing the most trusted of Dean’s guards back alone. The transport had been taking its time, to avoid making Victor’s wounds worse, but Mary expected it back any time now. Ambriel had been turned away at the border, unable to find Dean along the way. She’d come back with news of tensions rising and the border closure. Mary was thoroughly frustrated, in no small part because Ambriel had not been able to give her any specifics on _why_ the border was closed. She wasn’t sure if that was because Ambriel’s loyalty was not to her or the Cecropian throne, or if it was simply that Ambriel didn’t know anything either. The Enochian servant was difficult to read at the best of times. 

For now, Kate was doing her best to reassure the people that everything was fine. Balthazar had seemed confident of Ambriel and Akobel’s work, and had been more than willing to make a formal announcement to those gathered who had witnessed the attack that Castiel would be fine. Privately, he was clearly worried, but only that something would happen on the trip. It had made it quite a bit easier to reassure their people when Castiel’s best friend was so publicly confident. Mary was working to find out more information. Victor had been assigned to find out anything he could, while Ambriel was scanning the countryside along all the possible routes Dean might have taken if he’d been turned away at Haefenton. 

Mary had quietly doubled her guards on Balthazar and Akobel, especially since his bodyguard Hael had not returned. She’d also discreetly set a guard to watch Benny’s home from a distance. Princess Kelly seemed to be doing well, from what Balthazar had said on his last visit, though the man had been rather evasive on details. The Leviathan delegation had been placed under house arrest, awaiting news from Enochia before any final decisions were made. Mary had several ideas for what she wanted done to them, but until she was sure the Enochians didn’t have their own plans she wouldn’t move forward with them.

News of the attack hadn’t reached King John yet, but Mary and Kate both knew it was only a matter of time before their husband learned of it. Mary could only hope that by the time John learned of it, most of the surrounding issues would be resolved. The fact that she was not actually able to tell her husband where their eldest son was would be a major issue. John wasn’t the most demonstrative of parents, but he cared enough to get distracted by that kind of information. Mary was trying to avoid sending official word for a while longer.

At the moment, things were at a holding pattern. Benny had sent word through Balthazar that he’d written south about the possibility of an assassination attempt, but he hadn’t heard back yet. Mary was left to spin in circles, looping herself into knots. 

Then the door opened, and her wife burst through. “Mary, come quick. Victor is back, with news!”

*****

Although they had been warned of Victor’s condition, Kate was shocked to see Victor come through the gates belly up on the sled. His underbelly was bandaged well, and there was no other indication of injury, but Kate could only imagine what Dean might look like if Victor was wounded to this degree. For a Cecropian to be unable to move under their own power was devastating. 

Victor was in good spirits, though. The sled was pulled into the royal council room, a private area for the queens to meet with him, and the rest of Dean’s guards in charge of transport of the sled quietly left the room. Victor started to shift into a more professional position, but Kate held up her hand. 

“Please, stay where you are. We’ve heard of your injuries, and we do not want you to make them worse for our sake,” she said.

Falling back against the cushions piled on the sled, Victor sighed wearily. “Yes, Your Highness. I come to make my report.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “You seemed a good deal more lighthearted before coming into our chambers.”

“I did not wish to alarm anyone until I had made my official report.”

“We are eager to hear it, then,” Mary said, inclining her head. 

“Yes, Your Highness,” Victor replied. Though he did not shift enough to move his injured tail, Victor did manage to straighten slightly, giving the appearance of a more official report. “Word has gotten out about Prince Castiel’s injury. Rumors are flying, but the general consensus at the border is that the Enochian King ordered the border closure in order to mourn the death of their son. There is some disagreement as to whether Castiel passed away after crossing the border, or if it happened on the way. Some even believe that he was killed in the initial attack.”

Kate gasped at the news, covering her mouth. Castiel might not have been born her son, but he’d become part of their family, and she was not prepared to lose him. 

“But Castiel was delivered safely across the border?” Mary asked. Kate was forever grateful that her wife could still function as normal in these types of situations. She didn’t know how she would have been able to deal with this without Mary at her side. 

“I was able to confirm that Dean and Castiel crossed the border up to a day or so before the order came to close it. Castiel was alive when Dean left me. That was all that I could confirm. Suspicions are high, tensions are higher, and few people could be convinced to talk. I couldn’t cross the border, especially with my injuries, so the best I could do was rumors from farmers whose fields lay on the border. I am sorry, Your Highnesses,” Victor said.

“You did your best, Victor. That’s all we can ask,” Mary replied. 

“And Dean?” Kate asked.

“No word. He pushed himself hard, My Queen. I couldn’t stop him. I was able to confirm that he crossed the border, but no one saw him come back to Cecropia. Rumor has it that he was taken to their capital,” Victor said. “I take full responsibility and accept whatever punishment you give.”

Kate and Mary looked at each other in horror. If Dean was in Enochia, with the borders closed and Castiel dead, the treaty could already be in tatters. Worse, if Enochia blamed them for Castiel’s death, a not unlikely outcome considering the circumstances and the lack of communication currently, Dean could be held for ransom.

Or worse. 

The women knew their son though, and Dean would never have allowed Victor to stop him. Mary turned back to Victor. “We do not blame you. However, for your own safety and recuperation, we’ll be confining you to quarters in the palace, under the care of the medics.”

“Thank you, Your Highnesses,” Victor replied with as much of a bow as he could manage. Kate called in servants and arranged for Victor’s extended stay, with medical care. 

Given Victor’s injuries, a medically-induced shed was likely in his future, along with plenty of bedrest and monitoring. Cecropian civilians generally limited themselves to one shed a year, which helped extend their lives to the fullest possible and helped account for possible life-threatening injuries needing the help of a shed to properly heal. However, an adult Cecropian could safely shed up to three times a year without meaningfully shortening their lives or damaging their health. Soldiers were known to sometimes exceed that, especially those on the front line, but assuming Victor had been maintaining a civilian schedule it was likely that he would be mostly healed before long. The only issue was the fact that his last shed was so recent, but Kate was positive the medical staff knew their business and would account for all the details accordingly. Frankly, if he were bedridden for a few weeks longer, even a month, it would help keep him out of the public eye and hopefully make him a sympathetic figure, rather than someone to be blamed. A soldier injured in the line of duty, with medical staff and approved visitors confirming the extent of the injury sustained, was far more likely to be treated with empathy by the public.

Once Victor was taken to what would be his room while he healed, Kate and Mary pulled each other close. The thought that they might have lost two children was almost more than they could bear. For a long moment, the women simply found comfort in each other’s arms, curling their tails around each other until they looked nearly like a single entity. Dean was their first-born and of course the heir, but he was their child. And Castiel might be new to their family, but he’d won them all over, and the idea that both might be lost to them was nearly overwhelming.

Finally, however, Mary pulled away. Kate let her, straightening her clothing and drying her eyes. With a nod, she turned to Mary. 

“Alright, zygos. I’m ready.”

*****

Sam did not often get messages at the temple. Generally, if his family needed him for something, they sent over Adam or Charlie. If they did send a message, it was simply a spoken message, often without any need for or expectation of privacy. So to have a scroll, sealed with the royal Shield And Bangar, delivered to him personally by an official royal messenger was strange to say the least. But it wasn’t nearly as strange as what was contained within it.

He read the words with dismay. Sam had, of course, been at the ceremony when Cas was attacked. He’d seen the attack. But his mothers had made it clear that it was in everyone’s best interest if the royal family returned to business as usual as soon as possible. It would, Mary said, serve to keep the populace calm if the royal family was seen as in control and confident. So after Dean had left, the priests had continued the ceremony and then, as planned, Sam returned to the temple. 

This message made it clear that things had changed. Sam swallowed hard and nodded to the messenger. “Tell the Queens that I understand. I will pack my things and meet the guards outside shortly.”

The messenger nodded, and left. Taking a deep breath, Sam gathered himself. First step was to pack. There was little here that couldn’t be sent for later or that Sam didn’t have a duplicate of at the castle, but he still easily filled his inner belt pouch. Once that was finished, he darted down the hall and around the corner to the women’s dormitories, pulling a cord next to an otherwise unremarkable door.

Eileen opened the door, blinking. The cord stretched from outside her room to the ceiling in the middle of it, holding a large scrap of red fabric and a weight. It was designed so that when a visitor pulled on the cord, the fabric swung violently, letting Eileen know that she had a visitor. 

“What’s wrong?” Eileen signed to Sam as she opened the door. She had spent a lot of time with the prince, and could see that he was deeply upset. 

“We need to go to the castle. Can you pack quickly? I’ll tell you when we get there,” Sam replied, keeping his gestures minimal and urgent. Eileen stared at him for a moment, and then nodded. She tucked her things into a bag, larger than Sam’s. Once she was done, Sam grabbed her hand and she followed him down to where the guards waited to escort them to the castle. Sam didn’t let go until they were safely ensconced in Sam’s suite at the castle.

“Now can you tell me what’s going on?” Eileen asked, cocking her head and raising her eyebrows high in question.

“Dean is missing, and Cas may be dead,” Sam signed. “The Enochian borders have been closed, and no one seems to know what’s going on. Mom’s letters to the Enochian royalty have gone unanswered, and nearly all of them haven’t even gotten past the border. The rumors at the border are not good, and my moms are worried about the possibility that the Enochians might break the treaty to retaliate for the death of their royal son. The family is closing ranks, for safety’s sake.”

“That doesn’t explain why I’m here,” Eileen said with an exaggerated smirk, her fingers forming the signs as big and sarcastically as she could. 

Sam knew it was an attempt to calm him with humor, and normally he would have let it work. But he’d brought her here for a reason, and he needed her to understand that.

“You’re here because you’re important to me. I need you safe, because if they want to hurt one of us, they could just attack you and hurt me that way,” Sam signed, his body and face emphasizing the grief and fear he felt as he did. “You’re important to me. And even more importantly, I’m next in line to the throne. I know when we talked about our future that always seemed like an unlikely event, but if I’m named Heir-Apparent, I want you by my side.”

Eileen stared at him for a long time. Sam watched emotions flicking across her face, unsure what she was thinking. She could choose to go back to the temple now, if she wanted, but it would mean the end of… anything they might mean to each other in the future. Sam could renounce the throne for her, have a normal life in the temple, but he wouldn’t. If Dean… Sam would step up, if necessary, and he needed someone at his side who could bear the pressure, and more importantly, was _willing_ to. If Eileen wasn’t, he wouldn’t force it.

Finally, she smiled. “Sam Winchester, if that was your attempt at a proposal, it was a sorry try at best. I expect a better one once everything has settled into place.”

She ended her sentence with a soft, barking laugh, then tapped her dominant hand against her other hand, palms up, before swinging her hands around and, with the first two fingers of each hand, _shoved_ the gesture away with an exaggerated disgusted grimace, before shaking her head and chuckling.

“You’re staying?” Sam asked, needing to be sure of what she was saying before he would allow himself to relax. 

“I am. You need me,” Eileen signed. “I’ll be at your side no matter what happens. But for the record, I don’t think your brother can be counted out yet, and Castiel is a lot tougher than he looks.”

Sam pulled in a deep, shuddering breath. “I hope you’re right.”

Eileen gently pulled Sam into her arms, twining her tail around his. “I’m always right, lover. You’ll see.”

Letting her pull his head into her shoulder, Sam wrapped himself around her in return, trying to take the comfort she offered.

“I hope so… I really really hope so…” Sam said, his lips against her skin. It somehow made him feel better, as she soothed him, to know that she couldn’t hear his doubts.

*****

Balthazar had never been to the Queens’ private quarters, and being summoned there was disconcerting at best. Had it been nearly anyone else in Enochia, Balthazar would have entered the room with a cocky smile and a flirtatious wink, but the Queens deserved his respect. Not only were they fully capable of ordering his imprisonment or death at a moment’s notice (always a good reason to offer a person respect), but they were truly kind people, good rulers, and caring mothers. Balthazar had seen the way they’d interacted with their people, how much they cared for their children, and how much they struggled in private. He had no desire to add to their burdens.

However, he could not imagine very many scenarios that covered his being summoned to their personal chambers, and it worried him. His default response to worry, however, was inappropriate, so he had to settle for anxiously knocking and shifting his wings. Thank Eald that the Cecropians hadn’t learned to read his wings yet.

“Enter,” came the response from inside.

Balthazar did so hesitantly, though he kept his back straight and his wings under control. “You called for me, Your Highnesses?”

Queen Mary was resting behind a small table, scrolls spread out in front of her. Queen Kate was nearby, clearly the one who wished to speak to Balthazar. He bowed to both of them, but faced Queen Kate.

“I fear, Balthazar, that we do not have good news for you,” Queen Kate said.

“Cas…?”

The Queen’s sympathetic gaze confirmed his fears. Balthazar felt his wings go limp, and his legs dropped out from underneath him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> zygos: Cecropian word for "beloved"
> 
> Shield And Bangar: the Cecropian royal seal
> 
> Notes on Eileen and Sam:
> 
> Yes, they speak to each other exclusively in sign language, though Sam probably speaks out loud while he does so, out of habit. Sign language uses body language and facial expressions to indicate tone and punctuation, which is why Eileen does what she does. Also, the 'shoving' gesture Eileen does is her very distinctly "shoving" Sam's sort-of proposal away, indicating that it was an absolutely inadequate attempt that needed to be reattempted. 
> 
> And here we know what the Cecropians know! They don't stay in the dark too terribly long, but it takes a bit for news to travel. 
> 
> ALSO:
> 
> Next chapter we have a fwb ship that shows up, as well as the mpreg. I understand if mpreg isn't your thing. However, it's more... trans man pregnancy? Sort of? I mean. Non-humans and all, but basically we're going to end up with a dude who has a womb pregnant in the next chapter. So fair warning for possible squicks, but also it's not what people traditionally think of as mpreg, or anything involving abo, or that kind of thing. There is going to be a fair amount of trans people getting each other pregnant or faking pregnancy in this fic, so just. Keep that in mind.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! We learn some new things about Agaranese people, and specifically Benny in this chapter. Head to the end notes for spoilers, cuz this is the chapter that goes into the mpreg/self-impreg bits.

The Queens’ orders had been to maintain secrecy. Without confirmation, the news of a royal death could cause mass hysteria. Balthazar understood the necessity, and was grateful that they’d at least felt the need to tell him what news they had of Castiel. However, it made the situation he and Benny were dealing with that much harder. 

No one, not even Balthazar’s handservant Akobel or Ambriel, knew that Benny was hiding Princess Kelly in his home. No one besides the Queens, that was. And now Balthazar and Benny would have to figure out what to do next. The Princess was in mourning, her faith in her husband Lucifer shattered. The stress from the flight and subsequent attack had strained her body, and Balthazar had been deeply dismayed to learn of her pregnancy. She’d refused to contemplate alternative means of dealing with the pregnancy, but giving birth in secret was going to be a risky endeavor. 

Balthazar had been counting on Cas to help him with this situation. Castiel was one of the smartest Enochians that Balthazar knew, and Balthazar was sure that once Cas was better he’d be able to figure out what to do. Without him, Balthazar felt lost. He needed to tell Benny, so that they could come up with some new solution. 

It was with this in mind that Balthazar had taken flight from the top of the castle. Cecropians, bound to the earth as they were, rarely thought to look to the sky without reason, not this far south. Balthazar used that to his advantage, flying high enough to be mistaken for a large bird and using the clouds as cover until he could drop in near freefall into Benny’s house. The landing was hard on his wings, but it was better than leading any potential enemies to the princess. 

Benny looked up at Balthazar’s arrival. “Kelly’s in the back. You look like something the cat dragged in.”

“Cas is dead,” Balthazar said in lieu of a greeting.

“Allau lit?! Tell me you’re joking,” Benny replied, the spines on his head standing up in surprise. 

Balthazar shook his head, his wings trailing on the floor in defeat. “Nothing is official; we haven’t actually had word back from Enochia. But all the information they have right now suggests that Cas is dead and Dean a prisoner.”

“Damn. That is not news I wanted to hear,” Benny said, dropping onto a nearby stool. 

“Nor me.”

For a long moment the two men simply sat in silence, mourning their friends separately. Benny was the first to shake himself out of it.

“This means we need to come up with a plan for the princess, bonam. If we can’t rely on Dean and the prince, we’re on our own,” Benny said. “Guess it’s a good thing my wife is chock full’a good ideas, then.”

“...wait, you have a wife?” Balthazar jerked upright, staring at Benny in shock. His wings ruffled in agitation.

“Sure. Andrea’s back in Agares, with our daughter, Elizabeth. Sweetest child you could ever want. I miss them somethin’ fierce,” Benny said. “Andrea and I keep in touch. She’s the one I sent word to about the news the princess brought. If there’s anyone I know who can keep that shit from going down, it’s my Andrea.”

“But you-- I--! What--?” Balthazar wasn’t quite sure how to take this news. The soft look on Benny’s face suggested that there were still feelings there. Balthazar knew that what he and Benny had was more about mutual relief than it was about anything else. In fact, the biggest reason Balthazar had initiated their arrangement was because Benny was the only other person in the area with legs besides the servants that had come with him and Castiel, and of course Castiel himself. Benny was also just respectable enough to not taint Balthazar’s reputation, but not respectable enough that Balthazar would be expected to woo and wed him. Scratching an itch was one thing, but Balthazar had not been prepared to embroil himself too deeply into Cecropian politics until he knew a little more about how the social conventions worked. 

That all being said, he would never have suggested such a thing to a happily married person. “Am I going to have an angry housewife at my door?!”

Benny chuckled. “Arete’s Hands, no. I’ve been exiled for nearly three years now. Andrea and I were legally divorced so’s to protect her and Elizabeth, and we agreed that punishing ourselves for something outside of our control would be silly as hell. Nah, I told her ‘bout you right away, and she was more’n a little pleased to hear I had some company.”

Balthazar just blinked. Perhaps he should have made sure he found out more about Benny and the Agaranese people before he jumped into this.

“Anywho, I’m pregnant now, so that’ll help us get treatment for the princess,” Benny said, patting his abdomen. “Ain’t no one up here gonna know enough Agaranese pregnancies to dispute anything I say, and Andrea’ll make sure she sends care packages with the stuff I actually need. That way the princess gets as much care as we can get her without a real doc. I ain’t been through this process before, but I figure ‘tween you and Andrea it’ll work out just fine.”

“Wait. You’re _what_?! I’m not ready to be a father! How is that even _possible_?!” Balthazar’s voice reached a pitch likely only heard by livestock, and then the floor came rushing up at him. His last conscious thought was that he really really hoped that this was all just a terrible dream.

*****

Benny sighed as he scooped Balthazar up off the floor and deposited him onto the lounge chair in the corner. He hadn’t really anticipated Bal’s reaction, but he supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. Agaranese people did not tend to discuss matters surrounding birth and death with outsiders, particularly because their ceremonies surrounding it were so often misunderstood, never mind their biological quirks. 

Reaching for a vial of salt of hartshorn, Benny opened it underneath Bal’s nose. Within seconds Bal’s breath quickened, his body jerking as he instinctively attempted to get away from the smell. Once the Enochian’s eyes were open again, Benny capped the vial and leaned back against his tail. 

“Y’good now?” Benny asked. 

Bal nodded, slowly. “I… believe so. But I have some very personal questions.”

Benny snorted. “Okay, well. First of all, it ain’t yours. As far as I know, it ain’t possible for an Enochian and an Agaranese person to actually, y’know. Do that.”

“So how…? A week ago you had a penis!” Bal said, pointing towards Benny’s crotch.

“Oh, that’s easy enough. We don’t really talk much ‘bout it with outsiders, but y’know. Bodies can change. Takes a couple of days, we’re laid up for a while, and it’s not something we can do all that often, but,” Benny said with a shrug, “it’s doable. Most everything’s internal anyway, so it’s just a matter of shifting.”

“Wait. You’re fernan?” Bal asked.

“Nope. That’s an Enochian thing. I’m still male. Makes no difference what parts I got. But I do have the parts for getting pregnant now, so I did,” Benny said.

“...You just. Changed your parts?” Bal asked.

“Yup,” Benny replied. 

“And you...found another Agaranese person to…?” Bal pressed, clearly trying to understand.

“Oh, no. Can’t risk the princess like that. Nah, I just did it myself,” Benny said.

“Did… what yourself?”

“Got myself pregnant. It ain’t hard,” Benny said. “It was Andrea’s idea. According to Agaranese law, the baby will be mine and Andrea’s, once we’re married again. But for now, we’ll just imply it’s yours. Give you an excuse to be visiting regularly, too, so that you don’t have to do that death-dive thing anymore. And like I said, that way you and I can go around asking the locals for things the princess is gonna need, without getting a whole bunch of questions. It’s early yet, but if I caught I should start showin’ soon. It’ll be another couple of weeks before I can pee on a frog to be sure.”

Bal took a deep breath, and Benny waited while he pulled himself together. Finally, Bal seemed to regain his normal composure. 

“All right. Okay. So you’re not actually expecting me to marry you or anything like that,” Bal said, pausing long enough for Benny to nod in agreement. “I’m not going to say I completely understand this whole thing, and I’m not sure what frogs have to do with it, but. You’re right, it’s a good way to protect the princess.”

“What is?”

Both men turned to see Kelly walk into the room, her wings drooping along the floor. Benny stood up, going to her side. 

“Princess, you need to be resting,” Benny said. Kelly just pulled away from him.

“I’m too anxious. You’re making plans, what’s going on? Please tell me,” Kelly said, pleading with the two men sworn to be her protectors. Benny exchanged a look with Balthazar, and then sighed.

“Well, Princess, it’s like this…”

*****

All things considered, Kelly took the news of Benny’s pregnancy fairly well. There was no fainting, at least, which Benny had to admit made her reaction infinitely less melodramatic. Balthazar might be a good friend and partner in crime, and certainly they’d had fun together and probably would continue to do so from time to time, but there was a reason Benny had never seriously considered that there might be a future in the relationship for them. The boy liked his drama.

With a look, Bal and Benny agreed not to tell her the news of Castiel. She was stressed enough, struggling to hold it together as it was. Benny was still trying to put together a hammock for her to sleep in, so for now she slept in Benny’s ‘guest’ room that he’d set up for Dean. Before Cas, there had been times when Dean had needed an escape, and Benny had been happy to set up a Cecropian bed in a spare room for him. Now he was busy trying to arrange something for Kelly. She wasn’t terribly uncomfortable in the pile of pillows and cushions Benny had in what was now her room, but she and Benny had had several conversations about what she would need further into the pregnancy, and she’d briefly mentioned missing her bed. Balthazar had given Benny several details on standard Enochian hammocks, and Benny had been able to put his fishing expertise to new use, modifying a fishnet pattern into a hammock. He was nearly finished, and hoped it would help Kelly feel more at home.

Kelly was beginning to show, but only just barely. She was still very early in her pregnancy, and was worried about the possibility of losing her child. Balthazar had mentioned, well out of her hearing, that perhaps losing the child would be for the best. After all, the father was likely a traitor to crown and country, and the child very likely to either be exiled with their father or used as a tool to take over. Neither option was particularly appealing, nor would make for good life options for the child. Benny quietly agreed, but no mother would welcome the death of her child based on maybes and probablys. 

So Benny began the process of spreading news of his pregnancy. Balthazar was not the only one surprised by his biology, though thankfully Balthazar was the only one with fainting spells. The goal was to make sure that everyone knew that Benny was pregnant, so that when he went to buy herbs and liniments for easing the pains of pregnancy and helping the child within grow, no one questioned it. Kelly had also requested a small amount of barley. She’d told him that it was how Enochians tested for a healthy pregnancy. To be safe, he picked up a frog as well. If nothing else, he and Kelly could compare pregnancy tests. 

Balthazar categorically refused to be a part of their testing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Allau lit: roughly, what the fuck. Or, at least, that's how it would be translated for a non-speaker. It's actually a colloquial phrase that would directly translate as "go to your room" or "go to your bed", which evolved to have the meaning of "I don't believe you", and eventually became a general exclamation of disbelief. Agaranese
> 
> Bonam: Agaranese for "friend"
> 
> Arete's Hands: Agaranese phrase used similarly to "oh god" or "goodness me". Arete is the primary mythological figure in Agares, though their mythology is more philosophy than religion.
> 
> salt of hartshorn: smelling salts, used to wake someone up from a faint
> 
> "pee on a frog": Agaranese method for testing for pregnancy. If the frog produces eggs after being urinated on, the pee-er is pregnant.
> 
> barley test: Enochian method for testing for pregnancy. If the barley sprouts after being urinated on, the pee-er is pregnant.
> 
> Both the above pregnancy tests are based on real, if historical, tests, though they weren't necessarily carried out by humans the way they are by the people in my story, and they weren't foolproof. They were, however, accurate more than half the time.
> 
> SPOILERS: Okay, so Benny and Balthazar are fucking. Or, were, though I don't think Bal will be willing to continue that relationship now. The reason I didn't list them in the tags is because it's not a real relationship so much as a FWB situation that will not go further. They're literally the only two people in Ophidai City right now who have legs and aren't servants, and that's why they gravitated to each other. We'll get more into why Benny and Andrea don't see a problem with this later, but suffice to say that the Agaranese religious doctrines don't take issue with this kind of agreement, and Benny didn't think to mention it, because monogamy the way the Enochians view it is... pretty strictly Enochian. Benny hasn't dealt with a lot of Enochians, especially Enochian nobility.
> 
> As far as the mpreg/self-impreg goes! Benny gets himself pregnant. He does this because Agaranese people can literally store their sperm (or eggs) internally, shift their parts, and then use the stored sperm (or eggs) to fertilize their new eggs (or sperm). They can only shift about once a year, but it is important to note that even though Benny currently has what we would consider female parts (uterus, vagina, etc), he is male, will continue to be referred to with male pronouns, and would be seen as male in his society, as well as in Cecropian society (once they... get over the whole being pregnant thing). There will be a character later in the series who has sired a child with a woman, and that character is female. It does not matter what parts she has. She is sire and mother, and her partner is dame and mother. Benny is dame and sire and father, and his child will be legally Andrea's, because of weird legal quirks. 
> 
> If mpreg is not your thing, or if this whole idea is too weird for you, I understand. But it was important to me to include a species for whom gender was wholy unconnected to physicality, and for whom physicality could change without affecting gender. Plus, it's plot important!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Cas will wake up. He will. I promise, in like two more chapters. But while the first part of this series was pretty heavily focused on just Cas and Dean, this part and all following parts (of which there will be at least one more) expand out into the rest of this world a lot more, and I'm juggling a lot (a _lot_ ) of characters, and if I don't take the time to deal with their subplots then I don't have a story. So please _please_ be patient, because things can't wrap up and get sorted completely with Cas and Dean and their parents without dealing with all the other characters and their subplots too, and it takes time to build all of that. Also none of these characters have the internet or instant communication and I can't realistically have cultures that travel and send mail via animal-drawn carriages to each other suddenly all have perfect information immediately, _especially_ because as I've tried and unfortunately failed to foreshadow, Lucifer is up to something, is in the Enochian capital, and _has his mother's trust and her ear._ Things are afoot, bigger things than just Cas and Dean, and no one will be happy if I just wrap it up without dealing with the shit going down, least of all me. But two more chapters and Cas will wake up, at least! I promise. And I will do better about foreshadowing and making sure it's clear that things are the way they are because strings are being tugged in the background.

“General, ma’am! Permission to enter!” The call came from outside the tent that Jody shared with Donna and Cain. Although sharing quarters with her ally certainly helped with cooperative efforts, Jody couldn’t help wishing sometimes that she was only sharing with her wife. It would make it easier to have at least a little time when she wasn’t on-duty. With a sigh, she rolled upright.

“Come in,” she called. 

One of her lieutenant generals moved inside, saluting at attention until she gestured for him to relax. 

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, we have a messenger from Agares who claims to have information pertinent to our efforts here. He requests an audience with you at your earliest convenience,” the lieutenant general said.

“Did you bring him into camp?” Jody asked. 

“No ma’am,” the lieutenant general said. “We felt it was in everyone’s best interest if he stayed outside the camp boundaries. Would you… like me to have him brought in?”

The lieutenant general sounded hesitant, and Jody wasn’t surprised. Any Agaranese person within the camp boundaries not in chains would be treated as suspect. If King John saw, they would likely be killed on sight. But bringing a potential ally into their camp in chains simply did not send the right message to other people who might be willing to ally themselves to the Cecropians, either.

“No, you made the right call. Wait outside, we’ll be right there.”

Within minutes, Jody had brought Donna and Cain up to speed, and it was agreed that Donna would remain behind to hold things down until they returned. King John and Prince Michael did not need to be bothered at this time, especially since neither Jody nor Donna were positive King John would be sensible about the matter. Not, of course, that they said that to Cain. 

The lieutenant general led them past the edge of camp, out to where the lookouts were posted to the southeast. 

“He just walked right up to us,” the lookout guard said after greeting the generals. Jody raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean, exactly?” Cain asked.

“Well, we’ve got things set up here so that we can see and feel for some distance, even through the brush. Up until now, anyone we caught too close to camp was sneaky about it,” the guard replied. 

There were always a few people who would feel the need to try to get too close to the camp. Generally it was scouts from the enemy, though sometimes it was civilians. Wildlife, too, tended to wander close, and it wasn’t always easy to tell wildlife from people until they got within sight. Cecropians, with so much of their bodies against the ground at all times, were often able to feel vibrations of movement. For most Cecropians, it was something of a background noise, one they often barely paid attention to, but some Cecropians were more in tune with Mother Eartia, and so they honed that skill. Lookout guards then were always posted in pairs, one who specialized in seeing for long distances, and one who specialized in feeling the vibrations of movement made by intruders. 

“Up until now?” Jody asked.

“Well, this guy just walked right up to us, arms up and holding a scrap of white fabric over his head. When he got here, he said his name was Gavin MacLeod, heir to the MacLeod province, and that he had news for our general,” the guard explained. “So we sent word to you and held him here. We searched him but found no weapons, only the fabric and a sealed letter.”

“All right. Thank you soldier. We’ve got it from here,” Jody said. Motioning for the soldier to let her by, Jody and Cain stepped into the tent where the soldiers had put their visitor to wait for her. To her relief, he was seated comfortably, if somewhat awkwardly, on the floor, with no visible restraints on him. The soldiers hadn’t been kind enough to share their rations with him, it seemed, but food in a camp this size was carefully guarded. Jody couldn’t imagine how the Enochians managed, eating as often as they did, but the Cecropians were possessive about their food, hoarding it for each meal day.

Gavin was on the skinny side, for an Agaranese man, though Jody supposed that since she had only really ever seen soldiers it wasn’t necessarily a fair comparison. Even Benny back home had been a fighter, as far as she knew, and built like it. Gavin's scales were more green than black, with speckled black marks spotting the skin not covered by clothing, which was rich, not covered by armor or any other protection. It was simple, black, clearly made so the Agaranese man could get close to them without detection, though whether that was from them or his own kind was unclear. Even still, it was clear from the cut and style that the man was no foot soldier. Gavin held his head high, his spines relaxed enough that either he was genuinely unconcerned about what might happen to him here, or he was very good at hiding his nerves. He nodded at Jody, not quite enough to be called a bow, but respectful nonetheless.

“Am I speaking with the generals for the Cecropian army?” Gavin asked.

“You are,” Jody replied. “I am General Jody Turner, and this is General Cain. We were told you had a message for us?”

Gavin glanced towards Cain, narrowing his eyes. Cain simply stared back, his single arm resting just behind his back. They scrutinized each other for a long moment, before Gavin finally nodded.

“My family has learned of a plot to assassinate the Enochian prince. Our details are few, but we felt it was prudent to advise you of the possibility quickly, so that you would be aware,” Gavin said.

“We are at war, young one,” Cain said. “Assassination attempts are common.”

Gavin nodded. “Indeed, but this would come from within.”

“Your attempts to seed strife between our nations is naive at best, child. Why should we trust you?” Cain replied, impassive.

“It is not the Cecropians I accuse,” Gavin said shortly.

Both Jody and Cain reared back, turning to each other in shock. “You are suggesting that the threat to Prince Michael would come from a fellow Enochian? How do you know?”

Gavin pulled out the sealed letter and held it out. Jody reached forward to take it, staring down at the seal she found. “This is Benjamin Lafitte’s mark.”

“Mr. Lafitte sent word from Cecropia to the Kormos clan, who were able to get word to us. We asked him to send proof of our words that you would believe, so that we could warn you quickly. As of now, we do not know when or how the attempt will take place, only that it will,” Gavin said. “Father did not think you would believe us on our word, though believe me when I say that I speak only truth. My word is my bond.”

Breaking the seal, Jody found that the roll contained two letters, one in Benny’s hand and one in a hand she did not recognize. The second she handed to Cain. “Do you know this writing?”

Cain took the letter and deftly broke the seal with his hand. He stared at the page, his eyes wide. “I do.” 

Jody waited for Cain to elaborate, but he simply read the page he had and then tucked it away. After a moment he glanced her way, and nodded. She supposed that meant he would follow her lead.

“All right. This isn’t enough evidence to take everything you say at face value,” Jody said. “Forgery is possible. But it’s enough to give you a chance. We’ll increase our guards, and work out a system of communication that keeps both of our messengers out of harm’s way. If your information pans out, we’ll discuss ongoing terms from there. Acceptable?”

Gavin smiled. “It’s as much as I could expect, anyway. Do what you need to do.”

*****

Gavin’s information wasn’t extensive, but his sources were impeccable. Once they’d arranged for a signal and meeting place for future information exchanges, Gavin had been free to go. Cain and Jody had gone back to their tent, where they’d filled Donna in on what had happened. Cain also explained who had written him the note. 

“You mean to tell me that it was a member of your royal family? Our source is an exiled Agaranese man and _your princess_?” Jody asked. “How does that even happen?”

Cain shrugged, his wings shuffling in his unease. “I am not positive, to be honest. But every member of the royal family, whether born to it or married in, is given extensive instruction on duress words and codes. If Princess Kelly were being held against her will, she knows and would have used such techniques. Since she did not, I can only assume this is legitimate.”

Donna sighed. “So we gotta figure that what they’re saying is true. Benny’s information is sparse, but he says we can trust the messenger who brought this. Sounds like he trusts his contact. He also… Well, he has some news from home that ain’t good.”

“The princess also has unpleasant news,” Cain replied.

For a long moment, the two Cecropian generals and the Enochian general stared each other down. Their treaty was new, and working together for so many weeks may have forged a bond, but not one strong enough to overcome all hesitation. Finally Donna sighed and gave her wife a meaningful look. With a roll of her eyes, Jody huffed. 

“All right. Shall we play I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?” Jody asked, nearing exasperation but nevertheless polite. 

Cain chuckled, seeming relieved that he hadn’t had to make the suggestion. “Very well. Princess Kelly suggests that the target of the assassination is Prince Michael, and that her husband, Prince General Lucifer, is the one behind it. She has no proof other than what she overheard, but she seems in fear of her life. I do not doubt that what she has written is the truth as she believes it.”

Jody nodded. “Benny confirms that she reported that to him. He also sends ah… unofficial word that Prince Castiel was attacked by Leviathan at the harvest festival.”

“Could the assassination attempt have instead been referring to that?” Donna asked. “It seems to me that if she knew about an assassination attempt, and then one happens, that that could have been it.”

“It’s certainly possible,” Cain said. “The princess does not have a lot of details regarding what her husband meant. But Prince Castiel has held little to no interest for the elder royal children for most of his life. I understand why the princess would believe his attack to be unrelated to her husband’s plots.”

“Okay, so we assume it’s a genuine possibility,” Donna said. Cain held up his hand.

“I apologize for the interruption, but… Prince Castiel? Is he…?” Cain trailed off, looking pained.

Jody grimaced. “There’s no news. Apparently Prince Dean took him to Enochia for treatment, and there has been no word on his condition or that of Prince Dean. They may have more information now. The journey to Enochia is not a fast one, and Benny would have sent these messages off days ago, in order to get them to Agares and then to us. ...the only thing I know is that they are keeping everything quiet until they have more information from Enochia.”

Cain nodded, his face falling into a mask. “It could greatly impede our alliance here should news come out that a prince of ours was attacked on Cecropian soil. With the possibility of an assassination attempt, as well as our own struggles, perhaps it is best at this time to feign ignorance until we can find out more.”

It was a relief, to be sure, to know that Cain valued the treaty enough to wait for official word, but Jody couldn’t help worrying about what would happen if the official word did not fall in Cecropian favor. It was an issue for a later time, however. 

“If we hear anything, we will let you know. But for now, I agree. Not only will your men be upset, but the fact that Prince Dean has not been heard from since entering Enochia will serve to upset King John. To be frank, General, I’d prefer to not be on the receiving end of that particular conversation. That’s what his wives are best at,” Jody said. 

Cain snorted, and the tension in the air relaxed just slightly, enough for Jody to feel like perhaps this wasn’t going to end in a duel. 

“Agreed. So then, if we are to assume that an assassination attempt is a genuine possibility, what can we do about it? It seems it would be best to refrain from alerting the Prince and King right now,” Cain said.

“Yeah, King John’ll want to know how we got the information, and he’s gonna insist on reading the missives himself. Ain’t worth it right now,” Donna said. “But we can increase patrols on the camp border without the King thinking too much of it.”

“The prince is not as interested in the day to day drudgery of running a war as he is the big picture,” Cain said thoughtfully. “I can increase the scouting missions, send the soldiers further out in order to learn more. Given the circumstances, I can also send them north, as well as to the east, west, and south, so that they are watching for enemies from within.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to increase their personal guards, as well, preferably with people we know we can trust. If we mix our soldiers for the guard duty, we can suggest that its a bonding technique,” Jody said. “King John will see the benefits of that and not question it.”

“Then we have a plan?” Cain asked.

“Until we have more information, yes. We have a plan,” Jody said. Donna nodded.

“Ancestors allow, it is all extra work for no reason,” Cain said.

Jody and Donna could only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No real notes this chapter, though a reminder that while canon!Jody is named Mills, Jody and Donna in this universe are married to Rufus, and they took his name.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of information in this chapter and the next one! I'm hoping you'll enjoy it! Check the end notes for definitions.

Sending word to his mothers proved impossible for the time being, so Dean set about exploring, instead. It didn’t take him too long to find a refuse hatch (he was pretty sure it was a refuse hatch. What else would it be? Had to be a refuse hatch…), and he wondered why Cas had been so confused by them in Cecropia. They were basically identical, though perhaps a bit less private here in Enochia. He didn’t quite understand why someone would put a refuse hatch in the middle of a hallway with no privacy. Nevertheless, he was able to do his business and move on without a problem. Things were not necessarily labeled, but he was able to keep to the public areas of the castle without too much trouble. The hallways were not nearly as wide as back home, and certainly not as tall, which made his wanderings quite a bit more difficult, but Dean was determined.

Raphael had apparently set guards on the medical wing, and when Dean had left, one of them had broken off to follow him. The fact that the other three stayed behind to guard Cas helped to ease Dean’s mind about Cas’s safety, though he had no plans to take anything for granted. Dean’s guard was silent, acknowledging Dean’s words with slight gestures and nothing else, and Dean finally gave up on communicating with them. As long as they did their job, he supposed, there was no reason for conversation. He missed Victor and Dorothy, though. 

He also missed his space. With the halls smaller, Dean had less room to move around people as they walked past him, and he found himself brushing up against people constantly. It grated on his nerves, though he tried to avoid letting it show. When he finally found what appeared to be a curtained-off cubbyhole to hide in for a moment, he ducked inside.

It was not a cubbyhole. It was a reminder that Dean was not actually anywhere close to the ground. Once past the curtains, Dean found a pulley system like the one Raphael had used to get him out of the house in Haefenton and into the castle. Another curtain was drawn a little farther in, with the ropes from the pulley system directed out past the second set of curtains. Dean definitely did not scream when he looked out and saw the huge drop to the ground. But he may have choked a bit.

The ropes led across a huge expanse of nothing, down the slope of the interior of the volcanic crater to the nearest home. If he looked out further, he could see a spiderweb of the thick ropes, connecting all the buildings he could see to each other. He was reminded of his trip into the city, and chose not to look for the ropes that traveled to the neighboring peaks. 

Closing the curtains, Dean shivered, only partially because of the cold. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stay where he was, so close to the 90 hand or more drop, but since his guard had stayed on the other side of the curtain, it was the first time he’d been alone since his arrival to Haefenton. If his alone-time could have been spent with Cas, things would be perfect, but as it stood, Dean needed at least a little time to himself, and if he needed to rest in a drafty nook next to a fatal drop to do so, he supposed it would have to do. 

It took fifteen minutes for Dean to calm down enough for the cold to become truly uncomfortable. The tail cover helped a little, as did the borrowed tops, but since all of them had holes in the back to accommodate wings, there was only so much they could do. With any luck, he either wouldn’t be here too much longer, or he would be able to send for his winter clothing. He wasn’t quite yet prepared to leave his little safety nook, however. 

Within another ten minutes, it was cold enough he finally decided to leave. No one had bothered him the entire time he was there, so when Dean reached out to move the interior curtains aside only to have them move on their own, he startled near out of his skin.

The Enochian on the other side of the curtain let out a high-pitched squeak in return, their wings fluffing up aggressively. For a moment, the two just stared at each other wide-eyed, before the Enochian’s wings relaxed and they began to giggle. Dean couldn’t help laughing as well.

“Hello, Prince,” the Enochian said. “I did not realize you were in here. Did you wish to travel somewhere?”

“Travel?” Dean heard his voice crack and tried again, “Ah. Travel? No. No, I don’t… I don’t think so, no.”

“Would you mind some company, then, while I test the lines?” 

Dean shook his head. “No, of course not. You… I know we’ve been introduced, but…”

The Enochian smiled gently. “But you’ve been introduced to so many people over the course of the last few days, as well as being injured and sick. It is fine. My name is Benjamin, pronouns she/her, and I am the castle’s master rigger.”

“Right. And you know me. Prince Dean. Um, pronouns he/him.”

Benjamin smiled indulgently. “Of course. It would be difficult not to recognize you.”

With that, she opened the curtains and began pulling the ropes, carefully examining each length she pulled in before rotating it back out into the air and pulling another length in. Dean watched quietly for a moment, before finally breaking the silence.

“So, you take care of the ropes?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, never taking her eyes off what she was doing. “I have a whole team, of course. The castle has quite a few entrances and it takes several of us to maintain all the lines. But I do a monthly inspection of all the lines personally. It helps to catch the small issues before they become big issues.”

“And the ropes are… safe?”

Benjamin chuckled. “Of course. Quite safe. The castle has not had a moor line accident in four generations of my family. We are the best at what we do, which is why we reside here. Are your riggers not as skilled?”

“We… don’t really have riggers,” Dean admitted.

“What do you mean?” Benjamin actually paused in her work at that, turning to stare at Dean in surprise.

“Well, I mean, we don’t build like this? Most things we build directly on the ground, or sometimes under it if the climate is right for it, you know, no flooding or anything. If we have to have multiple levels, like at the castle, we just use ramps and spirals,” Dean explained, gesturing with his arms as examples. 

“But… Well, doesn’t that leave your people open to attack?” 

“Not really. We’ve got the castle walls, built as tall as we can with climbing rods specifically suited for our bodies. I guess we don’t really build with you guys in mind as much, but it’d be pretty close to impossible for a Leviathan or Agaranese army to get inside without notice.” Dean paused as he contemplated things. “I guess we probably should have built differently, but honestly I’m not real sure off-hand what we’d do to prevent someone from getting in from the sky. We do have catapults, at least.”

Benjamin hummed, going back to her inspection. “I suppose it makes sense to build with your most volatile enemies in mind. And our defenses double as important winter transportation, as well.”

“What do you mean?” Dean wrapped his arms around his chest, suddenly reminded of the cold.

“Snow falls early in the mountains, and stays for a long time. My rigging team stays extra busy in the winter clearing snow and ice from the lines, keeping the ropes from freezing and the pulleys well-oiled. When the sun blinds us with snow, or the blizzards white out the landscape, when the winds threaten to carry us away and the snow blocks all landmarks, the ropes still know the way home.”

Benjamin never stopped in her work as she spoke, smiling softly. Her words sounded practiced, as though they were something she’d learned in childhood. The pride in her work and livelihood was evident in her voice, even still. 

“So, what, in the winter you guys fly along the ropes so you don’t get lost?” Dean asked.

“Oh no,” Benjamin said. Turning, she reached out and pulled Dean until he moved closer to the edge.

“Look out there,” she said. “Every track is made of four lines. If necessary, the able-bodied can walk carefully along the ropes, holding to the top two lines and balancing on the bottom two, using their wings for stability. But of course, not everyone can do that, and frankly it’s not safe. Unless it’s an emergency, we use the baskets for most things. People, supplies, water… The lines even go to the top of the next mountain, for gathering things that aren’t available here. If one family has a need, messages are sent across the lines and supplies are returned. If a family needs to be quarantined, medical supplies can still be brought in. The baskets are our greatest asset, especially in winter.”

“...the death trap Raphael dragged me here in?” Dean asked.

Benjamin shook her head. “They’re perfectly safe. My riggers keep the entry lines in as good of repair as any of the travel lines, and the royal basketmakers are the best in their trade. Even your greater mass wouldn’t be a problem.”

Dean blinked at her for a moment, his ability to concentrate getting more difficult. “Yeah, well, I’m not used to being this high off the ground without an easy way down.”

“Oh!” Benjamin said. “Did you want down? I can call a couple of my riggers, and we can drop you over the edge right now!”

“No no no! No. No, I’m fine. I’ll stay right here,” Dean said, holding his hands up and backing away quickly. Benjamin just stared at him for a moment, and Dean wrapped his arms back around his middle uncomfortably. The wind outside was picking up, and even with his borrowed clothing, it bit into his skin.

“Are you… okay, sire?” 

Dean shrugged, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. “It doesn’t really get cold like this where I’m from, honestly.”

Benjamin paused, and then pulled the curtain closed. 

“You’re not done, are you?” Dean asked. 

“No, sire. But I had not realized that your kind was not used to the cold. I can mark this one to be finished later.” Benjamin stepped closer, and then her eyes widened. “Sire, your lips are turning blue!”

“Oh. Well. That’s… probably not a good sign,” Dean said, pulling his tail in tighter around himself. He was somewhat aware that she said something else, but he was beginning to have trouble concentrating. Benjamin stepped out of the inner curtain into the hallway of the castle, and Dean vaguely heard her barking orders.

A moment later, she came back in with what appeared to be the entire Enochian army. Dean wondered briefly how they all fit into this tiny alcove.

“Sire? Sire, we need to get you back to the medical wing now,” Benjamin said. Dean hummed in response, and she sighed. “Sire, these are my riggers, as well as one of the doctors under the Princep Medic. They’re here to help you back.”

Dean paused, and then nodded. “Kay. It’s cold.”

Benjamin nodded. With a gesture, her riggers rolled out a large mat next to Dean, and then began nudging him over onto it. The medic kept careful watch to make sure that Dean didn’t hurt himself, pushing and prodding to try to keep Dean off his belly and broken schute scales as much as possible. Once he was on the mat, the riggers all tugged at the edges, and Dean realized that the entire mat was equipped with rope handles all the way around.

“Where did this…?” Dean began.

“Oh. It’s a taepethebban,” Benjamin said.

“A what now?” Dean knew he was having issues with the cold, but he didn’t realize it was that bad. 

The medic chuckled at the look on Dean’s face and shook their head. “It’s ah… a blanket or rug we make specifically for lifting things. Riggers make them with rope and canvas. Medics often use smaller ones to help us lift and move patients, soldiers use them to transport the wounded from the battlefield safely, and riggers use ones this size to transport tools and rope to a new line site.”

“Oh. So it’s a real word,” Dean said a bit groggily. He came awake sharply when the riggers heaved him into the air on a count, but the medic grabbed his hand and held it.

“Sire, we’re aware you don’t like being moved, but you need to relax.”

“Why’re you here?”

“Benjamin sent for us. You’ve mentioned that the cold is not typical for your region, but we were unaware how ill-equipped you actually are to deal with it. With deepest apologies, we’re taking you back to the medical wing to help you warm back up,” the medic said. Dean glared slightly as the medic smiled and rubbed Dean’s shoulder with the hand not holding Dean’s.

“You’re so...touchy,” Dean said, vaguely aware that they were moving but not sure what to do about it.

The medic shrugged. “Good bedside manner. Princep Medic Raphael is waiting for you in the ward, sire. We’ll be there shortly. Is there anything you can tell me about your physiology that would help us treat your chills?”

“We sorta hiber-sleep…” Dean trailed off, thinking hard. “That’s not right…”

“Hibernate?”

“Yeah, that. Hypersleep, if it gets too cold. If’n I get warmed up again, I’ll be fine. C’I sleep now?”

Nodding, the medic squeezed Dean’s shoulder. “Yes, your highness. We’ll be back at your bed shortly. I will personally make sure to light the firepit in your room as well as the one below it, to bring the most warmth to your bed.”

Dean was pretty sure he thanked the Enochian, but then he was asleep, and it no longer mattered.

*****

When Dean woke up, Raphael sat by his bedside, glaring daggers at him.

“Uh. Hi?”

“Prince Dean Winchester. I allowed you to leave this room with the understanding that you would not overexert yourself or otherwise put yourself in harm’s way,” Raphael began, and Dean winced. “The expectation was that you would get your wanderlust out of your system in a safe environment, _not_ that you would stand in the traverse alcove and attempt to freeze to death!”

“I, uh…”

“The Wool Guild will be here in an hour, in order to measure you for the proper garments. You _will_ wear them. You will also sit down with my assistants and discuss comfortable temperatures for which your bodily function is necessary, as well as what potential ailments you might have acquired from _standing in the cold until you go into hibernation for no reason_ , and what treatment is necessary. I will be requesting an audience with the King and Queen, to demand someone from your country be allowed to join you, if _only_ to prevent future imprudence,” Raphael said, still glaring. “Until such a person can be brought here, you _will_ stay in this wing, accompanied by a medic or assistant _at all times_. Is that clear?”

Dean nodded slowly, unwilling to argue with Raphael.

Then he sneezed, and Raphael proceeded to shove a stick halfway down his throat to examine inside. It was not, apparently, Dean’s best day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Refuse hatch: This is what, in Cecropia, is in a bathroom. A trapdoor leading to a place to be cleaned out later. ...Dean may or may not have actually found one.
> 
> Rigging and moor lines: in our world, this would be sailor talk. But the definitions are similar. These are huge huge ropes, like as big around as your arm or bigger, which is why they're so strong.
> 
> Schute scales: the scales along a snake's belly (or a Cecropian's) that function as "feet" of a sort, allowing them to move forward in a straight line
> 
> taepethebban: Enochian word for a large reinforced mat used to carry large loads or people. Similar to a hoyer lift pad or a stretcher
> 
> Cecropian hibernation: Cecropians are not quite true mammals, though they aren't exactly reptiles, either. Their bodies have a certain amount of temperature regulation, but it allows them to drop a lot further than would be healthy for a mammal. When this happens, Cecropians drop into a hibernation state, allowing them to conserve heat and energy. If they have eaten enough, they can survive months in hibernation. It's similar to the Enochian torpid state, but torpidity is generally a far shorter sleep, and most Enochians could not survive more than a single month in torpid. Generally, Enochians don't intentionally go torpid longer than a two-week span.
> 
> QUICK NOTE: Guys I have the plague. It's so bad, you guys. So so bad. I can barely breathe, and I'm so fuzzy-headed it's not even funny. So this week the update is being skipped, cuz like. Concentrating enough to get a chapter up is just beyond me right now. Assuming I'm better by next week, updates will resume then. For now, I am so sorry, but I have to take care of myself on this one. I'll be back soon, I promise!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I am so sorry I missed the last update, and unfortunately this is going to have to count for next week's because I got a surprise 62-hour workweek this week. The plague knocked me on my ass. The bonus is that Cas wakes up next chapter, and Mary takes matters into her own hands this chapter. We'll also get a little more world-building, which I _promise_ leads to relevant matters. I promise. Several important things get set up this chapter, and next chapter we get some important history that gets into, a bit, why the Enochians are so isolated.

Mary acknowledged the knock on the royal chamber doors, and the guard outside swung open the doors.

“Your majesty, Merchant Cassie Robinson is here as you requested.”

At Mary’s gesture, the guard let Cassie inside, and then shut the doors after her. Mary tried to smile at the younger woman, but she was too tired, too heartsick, and from Cassie’s expression, Mary had failed.

“Cassie. Please, settle in. Queen Kate and I have… a request of you,” Mary began.

“Anything, your highness,” Cassie replied quickly.

“Before you agree,” Mary said, holding up a hand. “I need you to understand that what we are asking of you is dangerous. It’s also of the utmost secrecy. Even if you choose not to do this, I cannot stress how important it is for you to not discuss anything that you learn in this chamber outside of it. Do you understand?”

Cassie nodded. “Yes, my queen.”

“My sons are missing.” Mary paused at Cassie’s gasp, and then continued, “At this time we have no facts. Enochia is not communicating with us. We are fairly sure that Dean was able to cross the border with Castiel, but we do not know where either of them are now. The borders are closed, and if rumors are to be believed, Castiel did not survive.”

Cassie’s hands went up over her mouth. “And Dean?”

“We don’t know. If he made it across the border, he might be held hostage. He might be in hiding. He might be… worse. It’s impossible to know, unfortunately. As queens, we can’t leave to go find him. If he is held hostage, we don’t dare send soldiers to the border to find him. It sends… the wrong message, if we want to get through this peacefully.” Mary sighed, picking up a nearby glass and taking a sip of ale. 

“But you,” Mary continued. “You’re not a warrior. You’re distantly enough related to the royal family that your value as a second hostage is little to nothing, so you shouldn’t be of any interest if tensions are still high. But you still have enough connection to have a legitimate interest, to not be an insult for us to send. You already have connections with the Enochians, including the Prince Merchant, but are young enough to not be seen as threatening or manipulative. If your mother is to be believed, you have an uncanny ability to get into places you’re not supposed to be, but you’re no spy, nor trained as a scout or soldier. And most importantly…”

Mary trailed off, and Cassie leaned forward. “Your highness?”

“Most importantly, you care about my sons,” Mary finally said, nearly choking on the words. She wanted so hard to be the tough-as-iron queen her people believed her to be, that her people _needed_ right now, but in this private place, she couldn’t manage it. “Please, Cassie. Bring my boys home, or bring me word of their fates.”

Cassie straightened and brought one arm over her chest to grip her shoulder. Mary didn’t miss the slight sheen of the woman’s eyes. “I swear it. I will leave tonight, under cover of darkness.”

“Send word as soon as you can,” Mary said. She knew she was just shy of begging, but it was the best she could do. “To me, directly.”

Once instructions were exchanged, Cassie bowed and left Mary’s chambers. Mary would wait and tell Kate what she had done later. Kate would likely be angry, especially that Mary spoke to Cassie as though they were a united front on this. But Mary couldn’t sit by and hope the Enochians would come to their senses any longer. An armed convoy would send the wrong message, though it was what Mary wanted to send most. Kate was more patient. Mary knew the value of patience, but she had to do something.

Cassie would be safe. The woman was smart. Mostly, it just made Mary feel like she was doing something.

*****

Cassie packed light. As a merchant, she was used to traveling long distances, and had protective clothing to help. The shed-skin leather belly cover helped protect her schute scales, which meant she should be able to make good time without the potential for injuries. She avoided armor or anything that might appear to be such, but she dressed warmly. Autumn was upon them, and the nights were growing longer. The cold would descend soon. Normally, she and her parents would stay in Ophidai City for the season. Cecropians lived about as far north as they were physically able to, but for those who lived nomadically, winters were spent south. It also gave her parents time to reconnect with their contacts in the capital and protect their business interests. 

She knew her father would protest her leaving like this. Cassie had been sworn to secrecy, and without a reason her parents would be unwilling to see her go. But she had been in the audience when Prince Castiel had been attacked, had seen Dean’s panic. She had been worried about the small Enochian she’d helped in the marketplace, and worried for her childhood friend. She cared about them. 

And yes, she was aware that the Enochian was only “small” because Cecropians were large by most standards. She was used to being among the tallest person around when she plied her wares along the borders. She had heard the tales of Prince Castiel besting Prince Dean in hand-to-hand combat. It did not change her impression of him as petite and almost dainty in comparison, especially after seeing the Leviathan attack.

She packed a small store of medical supplies and extra winter clothing. It might not fit Dean, and certainly wouldn’t be to his taste, but Mary had said he left with next to nothing, so it would suffice. She could trade for more if necessary. Cassie also put together a collection of small valuables, things that would be easy to trade for larger, high-value items, and then hid them in pockets among everything she brought with her. That way, if she were robbed, it was unlikely they would find everything. Once she had everything she needed for her true mission, she pulled together another pack, this one full of things she’d purchased at the marketplace. Most of them were items she’d bought for herself, but they would make a decent cover story. She _was_ a merchant, after all. She needed to have something to trade. If she could avoid getting rid of them, she’d like to, but the princes were more important. 

The last thing she packed was technically a piece she could trade away. A piece of lacquered shed-skin, it held a painting of two honey bees, facing each other and delicately touching their antennae. Surrounding the painting, real dried honeycomb had been carefully and artfully added to the canvas, making it look as though the viewer was peering into a hive and watching the two bees share secrets. It had reminded her of her conversation with the foreign prince at the festival, and she’d picked it up as a wedding gift.

Now it might decorate his grave. But she would do everything in her power to make sure Dean and Castiel were safe.

She wrapped the canvas carefully, and tucked it deep within her pack. She would only part with it if absolutely necessary.

As soon as Cicero’s tail shown clearly across Father Ethero’s cloak, Cassie left. If she was careful and lucky, she should be able to make it to the border in four and a half days time.

*****

True to Raphael’s word, Dean was not allowed out of the medical wing after that, and several medics took turns standing watch over his bed. It got extremely old fast. On the other hand, the Wool Guild had come to visit, and Dean had been fascinated by their skills.

Although they had, in fact, come exactly when Raphael had said they would the first time, the Princep Medic had turned them away, too busy bombarding Dean with questions about what temperature his tongue should be and if he could catch cold things. Dean was pretty sure if he wasn’t still coming out of the hibernation languor, the questions would have made a lot more sense. Raphael had finally thrown er hands up and stormed off, making it clear in no uncertain terms to everyone present that Dean was not to leave his bed.

Hibernation wasn’t really something Dean should have risked, not so soon after the attack with Leviathan venom. Once he’d come fully awake again, after being fully warmed up, Raphael had sat down with him and they’d discussed things like Dean’s regular body temperature and typical Cecropian illnesses. Some things Dean hadn’t known, or even known a person _could_ know, and so they’d learned some things together. 

Raphael had been rather annoyed when they discovered that Dean’s internal body temperature fluctuated based largely on his proximity to an external heat source. Dean had just shrugged. Apparently it made Raphael’s job harder, but it wasn’t really something Dean thought a lot about. Dean at least was able to explain some of the illnesses that he might be susceptible to after his bout in the cold, and Raphael did er best to check him over for them. 

It was a relief when the Wool Guild finally arrived, carrying large balls of colored cord and a strip of fabric with distance marks on it. 

“Your highnesses,” the two Enochians said as the guards let them inside, lowering their wings and eyes in what Dean was learning was a gesture of respect. 

Raphael raised and spread er wings in response, gently brushing the very tips of the tips of the longest feathers against the newcomers. “Welcome. This is Prince Dean, he/him. He requires high altitude clothing fit for his body structure, several blankets, and a second tail covering with the bottom reinforced so he can move without damaging injuries to his belly.”

The Wool Guild nodded and began setting their things down. Raphael left the room, apparently trusting the two new Enochians and his assistants with Dean’s care.

“So uh… You guys know my name. What’s yours?” Dean asked.

The two Enochians exchanged a glance, and then did the wing-greeting thing to Dean, though he couldn’t actually reciprocate correctly.

“We apologize, sire. I am Adina, she/her, and this is my partner Daniel, he/him.” The Enochians went back to work immediately after the introduction, and Dean sighed.

“Hey. I promise I don’t bite, and I won’t tell Raphael if this is some kind of impropriety thing, but. D’ya think you could actually talk to me? The docs here are all sick of my jokes,” Dean said with a wink. 

Adina stubbornly ignored Dean’s attempt, but Daniel looked up. “...you’re lonely, sire?”

“What? No! Definitely not! I mean, I got Grumpy The Guard there, and the medics, and of course Raphael is a laugh and a half and…” Dean trailed off when Daniel raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes sliding over to where Cas still slept away in _torpid_.

“Maybe…”

Daniel snorted. Adina nudged him with a glare, but Daniel just ignored her. “What would you like to talk about, sire?”

“Well, you could tell me what you’re doing,” Dean replied, gesturing at the pile of cord.

“Oh! Well, you heard the prince. We’re going to make you some winter clothing. Sweaters, mostly, so you can layer them. ...We’ll have to figure out how to make something that fits you, since you don’t have wings, but we’ll think of something,” Daniel said. He pulled out the distance-marked strip and turned to Dean.

“We’re going to measure you, so we get everything the right size,” he said, holding up the distance strip.

“Oh! I saw Balthazar do this with Cas back home.” Dean grinned at the memory, sobering as he glanced over at his husband. “We usually drape most of our clothing. It’s not nearly as closely formed to our bodies as yours is. But we do use distance strips for some things, I think.”

“Good, then you know how it goes. We’ll get your arm length and around your upper arm, as well as across your chest and back. And uh… I guess we’ll have to figure out your tail too.” Daniel hesitated, staring down at the unfamiliar anatomy. 

“We’ll measure the tail as we would any other part,” Adina said, quiet but firm.

“All right. Where do we start?”

*****

It took quite some time for Daniel and Adina to get all the measurements they needed. Without any clothing that had survived his frantic dash to save Cas to show them, Dean had a hard time explaining what his clothing normally looked like. Adina was clearly frustrated with his desire to have clothing similar to what he would have worn at home, though she carefully avoided saying anything of the sort. Daniel promised to try his best, but Dean was fairly certain he was going to get whatever they made whether he liked it or not.

Once the measurements were complete and the medics had carefully helped Dean lay back into his bed, Daniel picked up the bundle of colored cord and dumped it onto Dean’s tail and lower torso.

“Daniel!” Adina was clearly scandalized by this.

Dean just laughed. “What’s this all about?”

“Well, sire, in the Wool Guild we pride ourselves on the quality of our yarn. The samples here will give you an idea for the colors and textures you might want. We’ll put several of our junior members to work on blankets for you, so that those can be completed as soon as possible, while senior members work on your clothing,” Daniel explained. “Normally, we would only ask you about color, as the softest yarns are reserved for royalty, but since you are not Enochian, the Guild felt it was best to make sure that…”

Daniel trailed off, and Dean chuckled at his sudden discomfort. “You wanted to make sure that I felt things the same way you do?”

“Ah… yes, sire,” Daniel admitted. 

“Probably smart, actually. Judging from what I know from living with Cas, anyway, my tail has a much different sensitivity than your legs do,” Dean said with a grin. “But how are you gonna make all this into a blanket? Is it like the tail cover I got in Haefenton?”

Both Daniel and Adina looked at the cloth covering his tail in distaste. 

“Absolutely not, sire,” Adina said, startling both Dean and Daniel. “While serviceable, that cover was made in haste, with yarn remnants, without a proper pattern, and no mind taken for color or coarseness. As a simple crochet, it does what it needs to, and clearly it has served your needs so far, but we will not be replicating… _that_.”

Privately Dean was kind of sad that he wouldn’t have several covers of many colors, but he nodded. “What’s crochet?”

Both Daniel and Adina blinked at him slowly. Daniel was the first to recover from the shock.

“Would you like to learn?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Yes, Cecropians are cold-blooded (sort of). The world these guys live on runs a bit hotter than our own, but Cecropians stick to the temperate/tropic zone for a reason. They don't tussle with the Enochians because they don't function well in the cold. Fighting with people who live in a region you physically can't is kind of silly. And yes, some Cecropians can live at the lower edges of the Enochian border, because there are regions that get less cold, or because it's a summer town for nomadic tribes, or because they've developed ways to get through the worst winters (group underground hibernation, etc). The northernmost Cecropian cities are typically the farthest north that Cecropians can live and still be active year-round barring particularly bad winters. We won't likely get much into it, but Cecropian border towns would have burrows connecting most if not all of the houses in town, with a cavern hollowed out deep enough to get below the frost line, in case of a sudden storm. 
> 
> Also, yes, I realize that sweaters don't actually help ectotherms retain heat. In this case, I'm going to pull Word Of God, and state that Cecropians are only _sort of_ cold-blooded, and they can create a _certain_ amount of endothermic heat, enough that a sweater/clothing in general will actually help. Because if I was being completely true to ectothermic biology the Cecropians would just go naked because the clothing would largely inhibit their natural body temperature regulation. And I enjoy snakes in clothing too much to go that route. So! Snakes in sweaters!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided since I have some time and I personally love the next chapter to go ahead and post it. I hope that makes the fact that I won't post until mid next week bearable?
> 
> Also a note. The written part of this fic is up to 24 chapters, and over 50k words! And it's starting to wrap up. There WILL be a third part to this story, and I WILL be taking a break between finishing this part and starting the next. This fic is a brain breaker, and I _need_ the break to make sure I'm good to keep writing and finish it. At this point I don't THINK there's going to be a full fourth part (though I already have one timestamp planned out), but then again I thought I'd be able to do this in two parts, so. There's that.
> 
> I appreciate your patience in this! I know it's huge and complicated, and kind of insane, but I'm really enjoying it!

It turned out that Daniel would actually start Dean on knitting. It was easier, he said, though Dean wasn’t so sure. Either way, Dean picked out a variety of yarns, soft ones for his torso that felt wonderful against his skin, and coarse ones for his tail that would help with his movement once he was allowed out again. Daniel and Adina left for the day, but Daniel was back in the morning, carrying large wooden spikes.

“...ah. What… are those?” Dean was fairly sure the guard wouldn’t let anyone in if they thought an assassination attempt was likely, but the spikes Daniel held were just unnerving enough to make Dean wonder.

“Knitting needles.”

“For… stabbing?”

Daniel laughed. “No sire. For knitting.”

It took some time for Dean to get the hang of it, but Daniel was patient, going over every step and answering Dean’s questions indulgently. Once Dean seemed to have it down, the room was quiet, except for the sound of Cas’s steady breathing. In an attempt to avoid thinking too hard about how Cas still hadn’t woken up, Dean grasped for any topic he could think of.

“So this is how you make all your clothing?”

“Most of it. We raise mainly alpaca, and some mountain sheep, for their wool. The wool is then cleaned, and either felted into mats or spun into yarn. Don’t you do the same?” Daniel’s hands moved quickly, even though Daniel wasn’t even looking at them while he worked. Dean was envious, since he was pretty sure he lost more stitches than he made.

“Not really. Most of our clothing is really fine and almost sheer. We grow cotton, mostly, and the Eastern tribes have silk, too. I think maybe some of the tribes to the south might do something like this? I know Jesse and Cesar have sheep for wool.” Dean thought about it for a moment, then continued, “Yeah, I guess I’ve seen some of the Southern tribes show up with accessories that look kind of like this? A little?”

“If you don’t make yarn or felt, then how do you make your clothing?” Daniel seemed very confused by the idea.

“Well, like I said, it’s cotton, and it’s… Hell, I’m not sure of the terms and shit, but the yarn is really really really tiny,” Dean said, gesturing with his fingers. “And then it’s put on a loom, and that’s attached to a tree or a special hook inside, and the weavers attach a strap behind them somehow, and lean back to put tension on the whole thing, and then they just weave. I know Charlie got really into it as an after-meal activity, cuz if she wasn’t going to move anyway, she might as well be doing something useful with her time. Then when it’s big enough, you just. Finish it off somehow and you can cut it apart to make clothing then.”

Daniel squinted at him, and Dean was reminded sharply of Cas. He grinned weakly, trying to cover his grief.

“That seems… uncomfortable,” Daniel said, making a face. “You can’t weave and move around? How do you get anything done?”

“It’s not like I’m getting anything done besides making knots right now.” Dean gestured at the mess of yarn in his hands, and Daniel chuckled.

“I suppose, but with the right setup it’s perfectly feasible to knit in the air or in a carriage. Many of our soldiers knit their own socks while on the move. And when the project is large enough, like a blanket or your tail coverings, they provide warmth to the maker while they work. It’s quite efficient.”

They fell into a companionable silence for a long moment, while Dean struggled with his needles. After a while, he glanced over at Daniel.

“So what’s felting?”

*****

Even with the explanation, Dean wasn’t sure he quite understood what it was. “So, it’s just rubbing clean wool a lot? How did that even become a thing?”

Daniel perked up. “Ah. Adina tells it better than I do, but I will try.

“Many years ago, when Enochians walked the plains and road the air currents of the sea, there came the time of sorrow, the Great Loss. The Leviathan came forth and invaded the waters of the coastline, stealing our children, from the skies, from the land, and from our arms. The Leviathan came in such numbers, they were impossible to overcome. They craved the flesh of our young, our children too young to even have been presented to society. 

“Our young are weak, you see, when they are born, and we carefully watch them as they grow, nurturing and teaching them until they come to know themselves. But a cry went out, as the Leviathan penetrated deeper into our territory. Parents came home to find their own parents, their siblings, those they trusted with their children murdered or left for dead, and their children gone forever. The army came forth, to protect those weaker than them, but the Leviathan moved through the water, unseen until they sprang forth and attacked. The warriors could not be everywhere, and those most vulnerable suffered for it.

“The priests prayed to Eald, to all aspects of Ealdra, but it seemed their entreaties went unheeded. The Darkness surged forth, Scead of Chaos overcoming Eald. The priests, with no tidings from Eald, conferred among themselves. It was determined that Eald was testing our people. Trusting in Eald’s grace and mercy, the priests, the royal family, and the military consulted each other, and decided that the best solution was to find a better, more welcoming land, safe from the scourge of Leviathan. So it was that we left our homes and retreated to the mountains. 

“While the warriors fought, protecting the evacuation, Anael The Protector gathered everyone else and began to walk. Anael’s wings were not equipped to carry her on the winds, and she used that to her advantage. While her people gathered what they could, the animals they relied on had to be driven before them, for they could not be left behind. Abandoning everything you know and hoping that the future holds something better is hard, and our people were saddened by this burden upon them. Our people could only pack what could be carried, by hand or by pack animal, for the way ahead was hard and unknown, and none could promise a cart would make it, nor that the Leviathan wouldn’t rise up from behind and chase down our children once more.

“So Anael prayed to Ealde to give her strength, to Eald to give courage, to Ealdan for protection, and Ealdra for determination. With all of Ealdan behind her, she led the way through the fighting, away from the water and the taint of Leviathan, up up and up into the mountains, for her knowledge of the ground was greater than any other. When her people cried, for none were accustomed to such travel, she helped wrap their wings to give them more support. When their feet bled from the strain, Anael cut wool from their goat herds and helped her people fill their shoes with the raw fibers. When the children feared to go near the water, she found fresh, shallow, fast-moving springs where Leviathan could not be missed if they lurked. She knew the marks of the animals, and guided our people to those that they could eat and away from those that were dangerous. Anael led her people, with Eald’s guidance, through storms and treacherous landscapes, through their very despair. And when her people believed that they could go no further, Anael filled the darkness with song and light, giving hope to her people as she guided them to salvation. 

“And finally, Eald led Anael and her people to this safe, sheltered place, with the great Unhwilen Lake that never loses its protective icy cover. Leviathan cannot survive in waters containing ice, for their bodies are not designed for such temperatures, and the bottomless lake of this crater provides a source of unlimited ice-protected water that the Leviathan can never violate. So long as the seat of our power stays in this place, Eald grants us safety from our enemies. And when she arrived, Anael and her people removed their shoes, only to find that the raw goat’s wool they had placed inside to cushion their feet during their desperate exodus had transformed into wool socks, giving our people the new warmth they needed to survive in the mountains they now called home.

“And so to this day, we pass down the knowledge of the wool and the felt, so that we remember the sacrifice our people made for our children, and so that we remember and honor the bravery and faith of Anael The Protector.”

Daniel finished his story with a flourish, and Dean opened his mouth to ask questions, when a noise to the side caught both of their attention. It was a moan, only just audible, but it was enough.

“Cas?”

*****

It was probably for the best that Dean was not considering joining the Wool Guild, because what little he had managed to knit together had been completely unraveled by the time it was rescued from the floor. As soon as the medical staff had realized that Cas was waking, Dean’s bed had been pulled away from his husband’s in order to allow the doctors more room to work. Dean had not been the slightest bit happy with that development, but he’d understood. Daniel had been shuffled quickly out of the room, taking his work with him, while Dean’s guard, Grumpy (Dean really needed to figure out what the Enochian’s actual name was, but since they wouldn’t deign to talk to him, he figured it was a fairly low priority), was tasked with the job of keeping Dean from attempting to climb out of bed and try to gather Cas into his arms.

Grumpy was not pleased with their job, and was only marginally successful.

Dean hadn’t noticed anyone besides Daniel leaving the room, but it didn’t take long for Raphael to appear. Once e took over, things moved quickly, and it was only a few moments before Dean’s bed was shifted back over, where Cas was sitting up against a specially designed pillow, looking weak but wonderfully, wonderfully _alive_. 

It was the longest few moments of Dean’s life, but when he settled next to Cas and took his hand, the little squeeze he got in return felt like it put his world back upright again, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Scead (Sceadra, Sceade, Sceadan): The Enochian deity of Darkness and Chaos. More a trickster deity than a deity of true evil, but evil often happens because of their tricks. Enochians believe in something of a religious life cycle, where sometimes Scead is in charge and other times Eald is. The end of the world will involve the breaking of this cycle and Scead taking over, blackening the sky forever.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live!! I'll try to get back onto regular posting again, and if I can finish up the fic altogether, I'll switch to as-daily-as-possible posting.

Cas woke up disoriented, a dull pain lit throughout his body that he couldn’t pinpoint, and no idea where he was. The bed he was in was simultaneously familiar and yet completely foreign, and weirdly empty, despite being surrounded by people. He was poked and prodded and asked questions, until finally all of the strangers were satisfied, and he was left alone.

Or mostly, anyway. 

“ _Dean_.” He breathed the word, reaching for his husband’s hand. Dean didn’t hesitate, immediately taking Cas’s hand and holding it as close to his chest as he could.

“Hey, Cas. Welcome back.”

“Where was I?”

“You were attacked by the Leviathan while in Cecropia,” Raphael said, and Cas jerked his head towards his sibling, suddenly aware that he and Dean were not alone. That would probably explain why Dean wasn’t curled around him, now that he thought about it. “Dean brought you here for treatment, and has been staying here through your recovery. Your servants in Cecropia were able to induce _torpid_ , which let you survive the initial attack, and I kept you under for a while longer after the antivenom was administered. Now that you’re awake, you should be out of any danger.”

“Raphael… my sibling,” Cas said, smiling softly. “Thank you for saving me. I have missed… our family, since my marriage.”

In a rare show of sentiment, Raphael brushed the hair from Cas’s forehead and then cupped his cheek. “I have missed you, brother. The castle is not the same without you.”

Eyes wide, Cas couldn’t help but lean into his sibling’s touch. “I… If I could be two people…”

With a shake of er head, Raphael smiled. “Your husband is quite devoted to you. Mother does not realize how well she has chosen. I would not ask you to come back if it meant leaving him, though I might wish otherwise.”

Cas nodded slowly. Before Castiel’s marriage, Raphael had been distant. They had shared few if any interests, and Cas, like his siblings James and Anna, had largely avoided their older siblings. Michael and Lucifer were volatile separate or together, and Gabriel and Raphael had often alternated between playing peacekeepers and riling their brothers up further. Cas had always found it easier to just stay out of the way. Raphael, it seemed, had still managed to find a way to get to know Cas, more than Cas had attempted to get to know his sibling. He regretted that, now. 

“However, I do expect from now on more regular correspondence once you are able to travel back home with your husband. And perhaps we might arrange some visits.” Raphael glanced sideways at Dean. “I would like to learn more about your husband’s people and their physiology.”

Cas cocked his head and squinted at his older sibling. “I am not sure I approve of you wanting to know more about my husband’s physiology, Raphael.”

Dean snorted, and Raphael chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “It is not my fault that you left him so long in my care, brother.”

This time it was Cas’s turn to chuckle, as Dean choked and pointed sharply to Raphael. “That’s it! No more physical studies!”

“No _more_?” Cas asked. “Dean, leof, what have you been doing with my sibling in my absence?”

Sputtering, Dean swung back to Cas. “Nothing! I swear! I wouldn’t!”

“He has allowed me quite extensive access to his body, brother,” Raphael said, still as straight-faced as ever. Cas nodded solemnly.

“He did? That does seem serious,” Cas replied, nodding. “Dean, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I! No! I didn’t! Your-- E’s-- I-- You--!!”

Dean cut off as Raphael and Cas both began to chuckle, and he glared at the two. “I fucking hate you both. You knew all along e was lying!”

Cas reached up and took Dean’s extended finger, gently touching it to his lips, before smiling. “I knew. But leof, you must admit you made it rather easy for us.”

Pouting, Dean slouched back onto his bed. “Yeah, well. Whatever. You suck.”

“Knowing my brother’s general feelings towards sexual matters, I highly doubt that, but I would rather any such discussion wait until I have left the room.”

Raphael smirked at Dean’s glare, and then turned to Cas. “Castiel. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“When can we go home?”

Dean and Raphael shared a look, and Cas immediately felt himself tense up. 

“Is there anything _else_ that I can do for you, brother? Something to make you more comfortable, perhaps?”

Cas sighed. “I don’t suppose Dean and I would be allowed to share a bed?”

Raphael’s eyebrows shot upwards to er hairline. “Castiel? Are you… sure?”

With a smile, Cas reached over and took his sibling’s hand. “Sibling, although no one will ever stir my desire in the manner Mother and Father would wish for me, Dean is the one who lights up my soul. I know I was vocal in expressing my lack of sexual desire, and that has not changed. But Dean respects that, though he may not always understand it. I am safe in my husband’s care, I promise.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Cas watched as Dean went from blushing and looking away to puffing his chest up and glaring at Raphael. Seeing his husband interact with his sibling was a joy, something Cas had never expected to happen. Wedding someone so far from home, even as part of a treaty, meant that visits were difficult to plan and execute. Raphael’s concern, as well as er teasing of Dean, was something Cas had never expected to see again, if ever. 

Raphael looked between the two men, and nodded. “I believe you, brother. However, I am not sure sharing a bed would be wise at this time.”

“How badly am I injured? From what your medics were saying, I was under the impression that the worst of it was the venom,” Cas said, both his hands going to his bandage-covered hip. “Was there more?”

“Your physical injuries are minimal, brother. The injection site is clean and clear of infection, and already mostly healed. It seems the Leviathan who attacked you released their hold quickly, so once the punctures heal you will be fine. It is only your strength and stamina that need recover,” Raphael replied quickly.

“Then there should be no problem with me spending my nights in my husband’s bed,” Cas said.

“It’s… not _your_ injuries that I am concerned might suffer from sharing a bed, brother,” Raphael hedged, and Cas jerked sharply towards Dean.

“Dean Henry Winchester, what did you do?”

“Hey, I got you here and saved your damn life. That’s what I did,” Dean replied angrily, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“At what cost? What are you hiding, Dean?” 

“If I may,” Raphael interrupted. “If you might leave the lover’s spat for after I depart to my room for the night… Dean’s injuries are not the only reason it would not be in your best interest to share a bed. Politically the situation right now regarding Dean’s presence is… delicate. And your husband is rather too large to smuggle out of the country in a handbasket, so I would suggest that you both rest right now, and once we’ve had a chance to catch you up with everything in the morning, we will discuss the possibility of… privacy, for the two of you.”

Raphael wisely retreated when both men turned their glares on him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the next chapter! Things are starting to clear up a little!

When Cassie arrived at the border between Cecropia and Enochia, she immediately began putting out feelers. The farming village on the Cecropian side, Ephiniville, wasn’t large, but it was the closest outpost to the capital that bordered Enochia, and it had an Enochian village opposite it. Ostensibly, she was there as a merchant, and that’s what she let on to people, letting the Cecropians of Ephiniville know that she was looking to make a little more profit before the winter months set in fully. She let her contacts believe what they would, and most of them seemed to settle on the idea that her family had had a difficulty over the summer. It wasn’t true, exactly, unless she considered her familial connection with the princes as far more significant than it actually was. But it was true enough for her purposes, and gave her sympathy from her contacts. Their sympathy made them more willing to work with her, something she used to her advantage. 

It took her a few days to set up and convince people to help her make contact with the Enochians on the other side of the border. It wasn’t easy. She played dumb, trying to get a feel for what was going on, and there was a lot of confusion, and even more anger. There wasn’t much she could pull together for an official report unfortunately, but to her relief, people were too eager for Cecropian harvest festival goods that didn’t make it this far north until the springtime to block her out completely, so long as she kept to her side of the border and didn’t ask too many questions. 

Still, she was starting to reach the end of her tiny stash of tradable goods when she received a request to meet a client in the woods near the border in the middle of the night. At any other time, that would have been a red flag, and neither she nor her parents would have been willing to go. But this was not any other time, and Cassie had to hope that this was the break she needed.

Of course, that didn’t mean she went unarmed. A small blade concealed on her tail was never a bad plan.

*****

Cassie went to the meeting place early, wearing the darkest colors that she had brought with her and checked around before settling in to wait. She wasn’t a trained spy or even a warrior, but merchants learned a certain number of safety precautions if they wanted to keep their wares and not spend extra money on guards. She hadn’t found any evidence of a trap, so Cassie had to trust that her mystery contact was at least somewhat trustworthy.

When Prince Gabriel stepped out of the trees and grinned at her, Cassie’s jaw dropped. 

“Heh. Wasn’t expecting me, were you?” Gabriel sauntered up, his wings down and relaxed. He had a cinnamon stick held between his lips, grinning lazily around it.

“No, Prince Merchant,” Cassie replied, lowering her body and bowing her head respectfully. “How can I be of service to you?”

“I’m thinking maybe we can help each other out a little here. I’m hoping to get some news from you, I suspect you want some news from me, and if you’ve got the skills I need, I’ve got a sibling who could use a favor,” Gabriel said. “What do you say? Care to negotiate?”

Cassie narrowed her eyes. “It depends on what the offer is, your highness.”

Gabriel laughed. “Smart! Well, I’ll be honest, I’m willing to lay all my cards on the table here, so. Nothing is official about what I’m saying or doing here, mind, so if anyone you talk to tries to invoke my name, I’ll deny it up and down, and have ten people swear to the fact that I was 500 leagues north at the time. But there’s something big going down, and it’s threatening my family. I don’t like that.”

“I swear to you, sire--” Cassie began.

Holding up a hand, Gabriel interrupted her. “For the record, while I’m not ruling out that someone on your end may be in on manipulating events around here, no one sends or lets their first-born and heir to their throne cross into enemy territory on purpose. Your royal family would have to be pretty damn stupid to let that happen, if they were behind this. It’d have been a hell of a lot easier to just let my baby bro die.”

Cassie nodded. “Yes sire. I can assure you--”

“Nope. No assurances. We’re not here for that,” Gabriel said, pulling the cinnamon stick out of his mouth with a heavy sigh.

“Then… what are we here for, if I may ask?”

“Because I need to know what you know, and get some very very unofficial information to your queens. Can you do that?” Gabriel’s tone had changed from jovial to deadly serious, and Cassie nodded slowly.

“Good, because we are going to need a little tit for tat. I’ll go first. Castiel is alive and recovering, which is the best I can do for now on that. Raph says things are hopeful, but there are still no guarantees,” Gabriel put the cinnamon stick back in his mouth.

“Prince Castiel is alive?” Cassie broke into a large smile, nearly laughing in relief. “That was… we’d heard differently. I’m so… The queens will be so happy to hear that.”

“Yeah, we’re all pretty happy. The thing is, Mom is super suspicious, and she’s really worried about this whole thing where she sent her son off to be married in a place she was assured would be safe, and not even a year later he’s back home and nearly dead,” Gabriel said. “There’s shit going on she doesn’t know, stuff I can’t even tell you about yet, cuz I don’t know anything for sure and I _really_ hate unfounded rumors when they’re not even good prank material. So the treaty is still at risk.”

Cassie nodded again. “And Prince Dean?”

Gabriel winced. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear about someone else?”

“His mothers are worried.”

“I’ll bet. Well, the good news is he’s alive, and Raphael has decided he’s the best thing since the wheel was invented. ...Which you guys probably don’t use anyway, so I’m pretty sure that metaphor is totally wasted on you,” Gabriel said with a smirk.

“Wheels? Sometimes, but we have other ways of transport that are more efficient,” Cassie said with a raised eyebrow. “But I understand. Your elder brother likes Dean. Why does that matter?”

“Elder _sibling_. Sort of. I'm not going to explain our family to you. And mostly because e’s been willing to go to bat for him. Dean-o managed to win over Stoneface emself, which honestly I’m pretty damn impressed by.” Gabriel paused before continuing, “The thing is, Deanie-poo was so focused on getting loverboy here that he ripped his belly all to shreds. Which probably goes a long way to explain why he’s Raph’s new favorite. And it’s true that Raph might be our best doctor, but e’s only spent time treating Enochians. E’s kind of out of er depth when it comes to Cecropian injuries, and Dean’s kind of stupid.”

Cassie tried to cover her snort with a hand, but was only partially successful. “He never was a good patient. But he’s alive and well?”

“Alive yes. Healthy is a bit more questionable. Raph needs someone from your end who can help er treat Dean, and also act as a bodyguard. Like I said, things are a bit… interesting at the moment.” Gabriel twirled his cinnamon stick through his fingers. “Any chance your people could send someone like that?”

“I’ll send word. I’m sure something can be worked out,” Cassie replied. Then she took a deep breath. “You mentioned reciprocation?”

“Right. Payment,” Gabriel said with a grin.

“I don’t have a lot…”

“I need information. You might not be high enough in the ranks to know right now, but I need you to find out.” Gabriel paused for a moment, and then he took a deep breath. “Shortly before the first attack on Castiel, I sent… one of our own to Ophidai City. I thought she’d be safe with Cas, and she had information that your queens needed to know. I haven’t heard word of her since, and with everything that’s gone down, I can’t do the digging I would need to without potentially putting her in danger. Can you find out if she made it okay and is safe?”

“I’m sure I can,” Cassie replied. “Who was it? Do you have a description?”

“The queens will know what you’re talking about. At least, if she got there safely, they will. No offense, but in this case, the less you know, the better,” Gabriel said. 

“If you say so,” Cassie said. “I can send word to the queens, at least. I can’t promise they’ll know anything, but I can try. Do you… have anything I could send along to prove your identity to them?”

Gabriel pulled a pack that had been slung on his hips, hidden behind his wings. He dug out three sealed letters. “The first goes to the queens. It contains proof of identity and is sealed by my seal, which should prove sufficient. The second to their general, containing what knowledge I have been able to verify they might need, which isn’t much. The third goes to my friend. Send them through your most trustworthy messengers.”

Cassie took the letters, and tucked them into her own pack. “Is there anything else I can do for you, your highness?”

“There might be,” Gabriel said. “But it depends on what the reception of those letters is, and what other information I can get.”

The Enochian turned to leave, his wings fluffing up in a gesture Cassie was sure meant something but hadn’t spent enough time among Enochians to interpret. Just before he vanished into the trees, he turned. “I don’t suppose you have any medical supplies I could hand off to Raphael for Dean-o, do you?”

*****

Of all the things Mary might have thought she’d get back from Cassie Robinson, a package was not one of them. Although actually, if she were honest with herself, a package containing proof of death, or worse, proof of Dean’s status as a hostage, had always been within the realm of possibilities. She just had not allowed herself to think about that, because it was an unacceptable outcome to this situation.

So as she rested there, the package on her tail in front of her, she couldn’t decide whether it would be better to open it quickly and get the news over with, or put it off until she could open it with Kate or Bobby, or someone else who could provide moral support. It was easy to believe that if she just had the right group of people surrounding her, she would be able to handle whatever was in the package. In her hearts, though, Mary knew that sharing the burden of opening the package wouldn’t make it easier. Long-term, having support through the death of her sons would be important, but in the short-term, there was no consolation to be had either alone or with friends.

With a heavy heart, Mary broke the seal on the package. It was Cassie’s personal seal, engraved within the royal seal, something Mary had designed specifically for this mission. With a deep breath, she opened it.

Inside, she found not the gruesome or heartbreaking message she was expecting, but a set of letters, all sealed with a different insignia. For a moment, Mary debated opening it all immediately, but this was far more likely to be good news, or at least not bad news. And for that, she needed her wife.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am SO SORRY for the delay. Here is where I admit that I don't and haven't had my own working computer for this story for months. I have to rely on borrowing or work or the library, and the last two weeks none of that was available to be on the schedule I had. I've been writing by hand, but the posting part is too hard on mobile. 
> 
> At least this chapter is longer? Other good news is that I finished it! So I'll be posting as often as I can for the next few days. If I can make it work, I'll set it up so I can post even on mobile.
> 
> The bad news is, you guys are going to hate me for the ending, and you're going to have to wait a bit for the third part, because I need a brain break from this story and also to get my computer working.

Kate was not far, and it didn’t take her long to reach Mary.

“You have word?”

“It’s here,” Mary said with a nod, holding out the package. Kate gasped. 

“Is it…?”

“No. It’s… Just letters. I thought we could read them together.”

Pulling in a shaky breath, Kate nodded. For a moment, she stayed where she was, staring at the package in Mary’s arms, before she finally moved forward. “If you don’t mind, zygos, I think I would like to be twined for this.”

At Mary’s small nod, Kate curled herself around Mary. She had been angry when Mary had told her what she’d done. Not only could it tear apart the delicate treaty and their fragile peace, but it could have cost Dean his life. It could, potentially, _still_ cost Dean his life, should Cassie be caught or otherwise accidentally anger the Enochians. But Kate loved Mary, and Mary was a woman of action. Kate could be content with waiting, because she knew there was little or nothing to be done. It wasn’t that Kate didn’t care, but that she was simply better at being still. 

Mary needed to do. She needed to move, to actively fix, to make things better. It was something that Kate adored about her wife, her drive and ability to find solutions and make the best of any situation. But at times like this it was enough to drive her crazy. So being twined helped both to comfort Kate, and to keep Mary from vibrating out of her skin. The physical connection was not always the most comfortable for Cecropians, and neither woman was exempt from that fact, but there were times it was necessary, and this was one of those times. 

Once settled, Mary stared down at the package again.

“Would you like me to open it?” Kate asked. She wasn’t surprised when Mary shook her head. 

“I’ll do it. I need to do it.”

Before either of them could question further, Mary pulled out the first letter. “Do you recognize this insignia?”

“It’s from the Enochian royal family. I’m not sure which member though,” Kate said, staring at the wax sealing the letter.

Mary nodded and broke the seal, opening the letter. She held it out for Kate to read with her.

 

_Your Highnesses Queen Mary and Queen Kate of Cecropia;_

_I know you have questions. I can’t answer most of them right now, and I’m sorry for that. Things are a lot bigger than a spat with the Leviathan. I haven’t worked it all out yet, though, and spreading rumors doesn’t help anyone._

_As of the time of my writing, my brother Castiel lives, as does your son, his husband. Prince Dean arrived in time to save Castiel’s life. They’re both locked away in the medical ward, under the guard and protection of my brother, Princep Medic Raphael. They are both as safe and healthy as circumstances allow. I can’t tell you more than that unfortunately._

_In fact, I can’t give you any official word, assurances, or promises. The Queen and King are extremely agitated by recent events, and are reacting by closing ranks._

_When it is safe to do so, official word will be sent. I promise. In the meantime, I need you to trust me. I need someone trustworthy, with enough medical skills to be able to assist with Cecropian injuries who is non-threatening enough to be brought into the country through the blockade. I’ll send what word I can._

_I’ve included two letters. One goes to your most trusted military leader. There are things building, and they should know the direction those things are coming from. The second goes to a visitor I am greatly hoping arrived safely to your country and is now hidden away. If she is there, give her the letter. It will help her, and eventually you, contact me in the future. If she is not there, send word back through your merchant. We’ll work out a different solution to our problems._

_At the bottom of this message I’ve attached one of my feathers. Your people should be able to correctly confirm its origin to verify I am who I say I am. If you can avoid destroying it, it may prove useful in the future._

_Hope to hear from you soon,  
Prince Merchant Gabriel Novak, Third Son to the Enochian Kingdom and Fourth Heir In Line for the Throne_

It took a little while before Mary and Kate could speak, but when she finally found her voice, Kate choked back a sob. “Our sons live, Mary. They’re _alive_.” 

It was enough. For now, it was enough.

*****

Mary and Kate called in Rufus and Bobby to consult once they’d composed themselves. Cassie’s letter was fairly straightforward, mostly a repetition of what Gabriel had said, as well as her impression of his honesty. With Generals Jody and Donna on the front lines down south, General Rufus was in charge of the home front, and both Mary and Kate trusted him with their lives. Bobby, though neither military nor royalty, was there to provide as close to an objective participant as was possible. Bobby loved Dean like a son, it was true, and certainly he counted as family. But they couldn’t bring anyone truly objective, so the best they could hope for was that between the three of them they could provide enough support to each other to make potentially difficult decisions.

“So Dean got his boy to the border in time?” Bobby said. The words sounded like a grumble, but the affection was clear on his face. 

“That’s what the letter said, Bobby,” Rufus said. “Dunno that I’d believe it without some sort of proof, but since we haven’t gotten a ransom note or anything like that, it might be true.”

Mary nodded. “That’s a fair point. We don’t exactly have any real proof that either of them is actually alive. At the same time, it’s an awfully elaborate ruse, and to what purpose?”

“They do ask us to send another person to them,” Kate said thoughtfully.

“Sure, a doctor. And not even our best doctor. Not sure this Gabriel fella could have spelled out ‘send me someone expendable’ better without actually saying the words,” Bobby pointed out. “Dean’s first in line for the throne; he could have asked for damn near anything and gotten it, but all he wants is someone who can treat Dean’s wounds.”

“Do we have any clue what those are, anyway?” Rufus asked.

“Victor kept pace with Dean for nearly the whole way, with better equipment, and he is still bed-bound until a shed can be safely induced,” Mary said. “Dean is probably worse off, and without a doctor may not be able to induce a shed.”

“So they’re trying to find someone who can help him. That doesn’t sound like people trying to use the situation to their advantage,” Bobby said. “I’m not saying we go in for the whole kit and caboodle, not at first. But offering trust provisionally might be a good idea. Besides, until we get someone _we_ trust in there, we won’t know what’s going on with Dean and his boy.”

“That makes sense,” Mary agreed. “We need to work out who will be our pick for that, then. But first, General, we need to know what’s in your letter.”

“Not a whole lot. Seems the prince is concerned about a possible assassination attempt on Prince Michael down at the border. He hints that he knows who might be behind it, but not enough for me to put the clues together,” Rufus griped. “It’s a lot of attempts at code words, mostly, and something that might be a list of people he trusts, or maybe just his favorite foods. Hell if I know. He knows more than he’s letting on, but I’m not sure if he’s not sharing because he hasn’t put his own pieces together yet, because he doesn’t trust us yet, or because he just likes being an obtuse fucker.”

“...well, let’s assume the best, and it’s that he doesn’t have enough pieces for things to make sense. The talk of an assassination attempt corroborates information we got from another source. We weren’t sure if perhaps it was referring to the attack on Cas, and the informant was simply confused, but,” Mary said, “with this, we can assume something is in the works at the border beyond normal warring.”

“Thing is,” Rufus said, “that’s basically normal warfare. If John thought there was even the slightest chance he could manage to take out Alastair without sacrificing our soldiers in a battle, he’d jump at it. Until we know more about it, the best we can do is make sure Jody and Donna know it’s a possibility.”

“So we send word down that way, and just hope?” Kate asked. 

“Hate to say it, but Rufus is right,” Bobby said. “We just don’t have enough to do more right now. What’s got me curious, though, is that y’all say there’s someone else who told you about this. Don’t suppose that would have anything to do with the mysterious person Gabriel was asking about?”

“Princess Kelly of Enochia showed up the day Castiel was attacked,” Mary said, sharing a look with Kate. “She came in fear for her life from her husband, looking for aide from Castiel. We gave it to her in his stead.”

“And where’s the princess now?” Rufus pressed.

“Safe. The fewer people know where, the better,” Mary said. “We trust you. But we haven’t heard anything from Enochia about her disappearance before now. We have no idea who even knows she came down this way. For now, it’s just safer this way.”

Both men nodded. 

“Will she cooperate, do you think?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t see any reason she wouldn’t, but I really don’t know,” Mary said. “I hope so.”

“Well, we can’t work out much to do with Gabriel until we can verify his words. Which means we need to figure out who to send up to Cecropia to help with Dean,” Kate said. “Do we have any ideas?”

There were several options, but the choices narrowed significantly when considering the need for trust and discretion as well as skill. Of course, most of their best doctors knew how to be prudent about the information they gave out, especially those that worked with royalty. But the best doctors were also the ones that would raise the most questions from others if they suddenly disappeared, never mind that their very skill made them indispensable. Bobby was right to point out that Gabriel didn’t want their best, just the best they could spare.

“What about the woman you sent to get this information?” Rufus finally asked, exasperated after they had brought up and dismissed yet another possibility.

“Cassie Robinson? She’s a merchant, not a doctor,” Mary said.

“Any good merchant will have a passing-fair knowledge of the kinds of wounds Dean is likely to have,” Bobby said. “They’re travel wounds. Cassie and her family spend most of the year on the road, I’m sure they’ve had this type of issue before.”

“However distant, she is related to me,” Kate pointed out. “I don’t see her as expendable. I don’t even like that she was sent on this first mission.” 

“I don’t think that’s what Bobby is saying, exactly,” Mary said. “But as far as people we can trust who either aren’t needed here, or who won’t simply serve as an additional hostage for an already bad situation, she might be the best we have.”

“Plus she’s already there,” Rufus pointed out. “Complete with a seal she can use to get in touch with us as quickly as possible. She clearly has a working relationship with the Prince Merchant already, which gives her an edge that most of the others we’ve discussed wouldn’t have. She already made her excuses to the people here, she’s gained the trust of people there… It just makes sense.”

Kate glared at them all for a long moment and then sighed. “I still don’t like it. But you’re right. However! We give her a choice. If she decides she’d rather come back here, then we send someone else. Okay?”

“Seems reasonable,” Bobby said. “So what’s the best way to get the information in Rufus’s letter down to your husband?”

*****

When Gabriel received word that preparations were in place, he arranged the second meeting with the Cecropian woman, in a slightly different area of the woods surrounding Ephiniville and Haefenton. It was easier for him to avoid the border closures than it would be for any Cecropian, which was why the meetings were always on her side, but with any luck, tonight he would be sneaking a Cecropian into his own country.

Although Gabriel and Raphael were as different as they could be, they’d shared a womb, giving them a bond that was hard to overcome. So when Raphael had come to Gabriel several days ago and asked him to help er find help for Dean, Gabriel had agreed. It’d been easy to tack that onto the other things Gabriel was working on. Ever since he’d sent Kelly to Cas, Gabriel had been keeping his ears to the wind, trying to learn whether or not she’d made it there safely. He’d also been greasing some wheels, trying to figure out whether or not Kelly’s claims that Lucifer was planning something treacherous were real. 

When news came north of the attack on his brother, Gabriel had wondered if that was what Lucifer had planned. Lucifer had rarely if ever taken notice of their younger brothers, but of all of the children, Cas had always been the one that had stood out. Michael was the Golden Child, doing everything exactly as was expected of him, while Lucifer had chafed under his own position. Gabriel may have played at being the rebel child, but Lucifer was almost destined to be one. Lucifer wanted more than he had, and it was becoming more and more obvious. But even though Castiel had been the clear favorite, a consequence of being the youngest Gabriel thought, he’d never been a threat to anything Lucifer wanted. 

For all that Castiel fought well, and could have easily taking over Lucifer’s role as Prince General, he’d never shown any desire to, nor had their parents ever suggested such a thing. So there was no reason Gabriel could think of for Lucifer to go after Castiel, not after Castiel had married a foreign king and left Enochia forever. Lucifer had nothing but disdain for the Cecropians, much like their mother, and wouldn’t have wanted that throne anyway, and even if Cas had been a threat to Lucifer, the arranged marriage would have neutralized it.

So Gabriel had dug deeper. Lucifer was vindictive and petty, but he wasn’t stupid. And the things he found bothered him. It didn’t seem like Cas was the target at all, or at least not the primary one. What details Gabriel could find out didn’t match up, and besides, the Leviathan were well-known shit-stirrers. 

That, of course, didn’t mean Lucifer was completely innocent. But it made it less likely he was involved. Probably. 

However, there _were_ some things going on that didn’t make sense. Lucifer was socializing far more with their mother than he ever had before. And there was the thing where Lucifer had finally been given a company of his own to lead in a true military expedition, as opposed to simple squadrons along the Leviathan-riddled coastlines, and he’d abandoned it to come back and hobnob it with his parents. Lucifer had been gunning for his own command for over a year. There was absolutely no reason for him to abandon that within a matter of weeks, unless something else was going on. 

There was also the matter of Uriel. Gabriel had intercepted word that Uriel had died as part of the attack on Castiel, mostly because the Queens’ messengers had been stopped by the border and Gabriel had been able to convince them of his identity. It wasn’t unheard of for a royal guard to die in defense of their royal charge, but it didn’t match up with Castiel’s injuries. Castiel wasn’t a wilting flower who would stand back and let his soldiers do all the work. If anything, Castiel would be more likely to fight in defense of his guard. Even if multiple Leviathan had been involved (which the message did not imply), it didn’t add up. Cas had no real defensive wounds, which made sense if it were a surprise attack without a guard, but not if Uriel were there. Something just wasn’t right there, and if their Crown Prince hadn’t been the one to bring Castiel in, Gabriel would have suspected Cecropian foul play.

But now Gabriel was at a point where he needed more information than he could get on his own, and Raph needed help, so it was time for an exchange. 

So when he showed up at the arranged meeting place, Gabriel was somewhat surprised to find that there was only the single Cecropian woman there to meet him. 

“You have news?” Gabriel asked.

“I do. The Queens send their greetings. I have messages to you from them here,” the woman--Cassie. Cassie was her name--said. 

Gabriel took the letters, two total. One clearly contained a second, the seal on the one inside evident through the paper. He tucked them away.

“And the other thing we discussed?”

“The honor of serving my prince was offered to me, and I have agreed. While I’m not classically trained, my years on the road mean I am well-aware of the kind of wounds the prince will have, and know how to deal with them.” Cassie bowed at the torso, and used her tail to pull forward a pack that Gabriel hadn’t noticed. “If it pleases you, I am prepared to leave as soon as you are. I also have letters for the prince and his husband, and the Queens only request that you allow the prince to verify that they are indeed from them before you open and examine them for yourselves.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Wait, your queens expect us to open mail from them to their son?”

Cassie shrugged. “Tensions are high. It is only natural to be suspicious, and the Queens have nothing to hide. They just would like to make sure their sons know that they can trust the words inside.”

“Okay, fair enough. I doubt we’ll bother though. So you’re it?” 

“Yes,” Cassie said. “It has been requested that if you are willing, the Queens would like to arrange a way to regularly communicate through me to their sons, but understand that it will take time.”

Gabriel nodded, sighing, and ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t entirely unexpected that the queens would want to hear from their son more often, but still. Figuring out how to do that without Mother finding out, or worse, trying to convince Mother to allow such a thing, would be difficult at best. But that was something he could deal with later. For now…

“All right, sweetheart. Let’s get you across the border.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> zygos: Cecropian for "lover"  
> twined: Cecropian term for entangling one's tail with another in an affectionate way.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! A short one, this time, but with some important things!

The journey took three more days, mostly because Gabriel was avoiding taking them along main roads. Getting past the blockade had been a trick in and of itself, and then the actual trip into the capital had been done mostly with Cassie buried underneath soft goods. Gabriel was apparently not above taking full advantage of his status as a royal, because every challenge for inspection was met with a laugh and, apparently, the guards waving him through. At least, that’s what Cassie assumed, since nothing around her was ever shuffled and she was never discovered.

At night, Gabriel found secluded places well away from the towns, and Cassie climbed out of the cart and slept under the stars. They traveled slowly, and when Cassie expressed impatience Gabriel just shrugged.

“Look, I can get you there fast, but it means making a scene. No one travels that quickly, especially this time of year, unless there’s something big going down,” Gabriel explained. “And while that may be true, sweetheart, I sure ain’t about to call attention to myself by racing up the mountains to the capital. Raph already did that and freaked out half the population along the way, and e’s the _good_ twin. I’m the evil one, there ain’t no way I could get away without inspections and regulations if they thought I was doing more than meandering my way home.”

“The… evil twin?” Cassie was confused. “You’re most definitely not evil.”

“That’s cuz you haven’t seen me when I’ve grown out my moustache.”

That made even less sense to Cassie, and it must have shown on her face, because Gabriel rolled his eyes. 

“Look, of the two of us, Raph is the one that’s more obedient and less likely to cause a fuss. I mean, when e does, e does it right, as we’ve seen here. But I’m a known troublemaker, so if I change my normal returning-home-for-the-winter behavior significantly, people will want to know why. Raph got away with it cuz e never starts shit, and so when e does, e means business.” Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “I mean, I’m not really evil, but they’d probably assume I was sneaking some black powder pyro bursts in or something.”

“...have you ever done that?”

“It was just once! Eald’s flaming fingers, it’s like no one can ever forget! Burn down one castle wing, I swear, and it’s like the world ended. No one was hurt, the fire was contained, and it meant Raph got to remodel the wing to er specifications, which e had been bothering Ma to let er do anyway. So it all worked out in the end.” 

Cassie just chuckled. “Knowing you, that’s exactly why you did it.”

Gabriel winked. “I might say you know me pretty well, then, but obviously I’d never do anything so dangerous as that.”

*****

So they took their time, and it was under the cover of night that Cassie was finally brought to the castle itself. Gabriel had snuck her into Fleamdom in the cart the same as he had everywhere else, and then they’d waited (mostly) patiently until nightfall. Cassie was somewhat disappointed that she didn’t get a chance to see the city, but it wasn’t worth the potential for discovery.

The basket ride was new, and somewhat unnerving, but Cassie closed her eyes and it was over quickly. She was more disturbed by the fact that there didn’t seem to be any other way down, which might prove to be a problem should they need a quick escape, but she had no choice. Once inside, Gabriel led her quietly through the castle until they came to a large doorway. Gabriel knocked, getting a grumpy, incoherent reply.

“You know you love me, Raphy-poo. Now open up, I have a gift for you.”

“I swear to Ealdra, Gabriel, if this is another one of your--” The Enochian who opened the door stopped short at the sight of her. “Ah. Thank Ealdra. I’m Princep Medic Raphael, pronouns e/er. You’re a medic, correct?”

“Cassie Robinson. ...uh, she/her. And… sort of. I know how to deal with travel wounds, I have supplies, and I could be spared.” Cassie was aware of why she had been asked to come and not one of Cecropia’s trained medics. It wasn’t something she was going to dwell on, though.

“Close enough. Thank you, brother,” Raphael said, turning to er brother. “If you will excuse us…”

“More than happy to, sib. In fact, I’m gonna leave this all to you now, and if any questions come up later, I have no clue how she got in. This one is _allll_ yours,” Gabriel said, making a show of brushing his hands together and shaking his wings out to a full fluff before settling them back down against his back. A dusting of fluff and road dirt scattered from his wings.

“Perfect.” Raphael nodded at er brother as he left, and then looked to Cassie. “If you will excuse me, I will get dressed properly, and then I will take you to the princes. For now, you’ll need to bunk down in the medical wing with them, and I’m sure you’re exhausted. Do you need anything?”

Cassie shook her head, and then waited patiently while Raphael changed. She wasn’t entirely sure what had been indecent about the Enochian, but supposed the fact that e was not wearing a top covering must have been the problem. Honestly, it didn’t seem a big enough deal to her to get completely dressed just to take her to where she’d be sleeping, but she wasn’t going to question er host. Several tribes in Cecropia had modesty rules about such things, after all. Perhaps that was all that it was. Cassie decided it was probably for the best, then, to direct any question she had about the differences she’d noted in their chests to Dean or maybe Castiel. 

Raphael did not take long to dress, and before long e was leading her down the hallways. Raphael did not attempt to hide her the way that Gabriel had. Cassie couldn’t say that e was more self-assured than er brother had been, exactly. Gabriel was nothing if not confident. But where Gabriel had made her stay quite far behind him, only gesturing her forward when he was sure the coast was clear, and sauntering his way around to distract any passersby, Raphael moved with a kind of fluid grace and confidence that came from the knowledge that e would not be challenged, even for having a Cecropian guest in the castle when none were supposed to even be in the country.

When they got to where the princes were recuperating, Cassie couldn’t help her sorrow. “Oh… Oh Dean.”

Road rash, in general, was a minor injury. Most Cecropians, when they realized they were pushing too hard, knew to slow down, or in cases of urgency, to pass off the responsibility. There were ways to prevent it, in extreme cases. Clothing had been designed to help protect their skin, and they had ointments and powders that could be applied as often as every hour to keep the skin from being harmed. But Dean had not thought once of himself, and had not brought any of that along. Cassie had known this, but seeing the bandages that went down nearly the length of his tail was sobering nonetheless.

“I would prefer that the princes be allowed to get their rest, for now, but in the morning I am hoping you can look over Prince Dean,” Raphael said with a gesture to the sleeping princes. “We have done what we can, but I don’t know enough about your biology to know if it’s enough, and he will not _stay put_. I fear that if we don’t get him healed sooner rather than later, he’ll only injure himself past the point of healing.”

Cassie nodded. “Where can I set up, and where should I sleep?”

“Unfortunately, although I had asked my brother to find you or someone like you, I had no idea when or if he would be able to. We weren’t prepared. Dean seems to despise our treatment beds,” Raphael paused when Cassie snorted, and she gestured er to continue. “Anyway. I will not ask you to sleep in one. But I am not sure what else to suggest. Our hammocks would never hold you, and besides, I am not sure you would easily be able to get in or out of one alone, which seems to be Dean’s main issue with the beds here.”

Looking around, Cassie shrugged. “If you’ve got some cushions and a quiet treatment room, I can settle on the floor easily enough.”

Raphael looked scandalized at the suggestion and began to protest, but Cassie just chuckled as she held up a hand. “Look, unless you want to dig a hole in your floor for the mattress, you’re not going to get anything like what I have at home, and what I suggested is no different than my family might do for a guest. If you don’t have anything I can throw on the floor, I can just curl up on my tail.”

For a moment, Raphael simply stood there staring at her, clearly trying to work through er thoughts. Finally, e nodded. “Come.”

E led her out of the room the princes were in, and down to another, smaller room. The setup was similar, but with fewer beds, since Dean needed three just for himself, as well as one for Cas. Raphael grabbed the mattresses off the two beds that were there and tossed them to the ground, arranging them side by side. Then e went to the storage closet in the room and pulled down more cushions and some spare blankets from the shelves inside.

“Will this do?” e asked when e was done.

“Definitely,” Cassie said. “Do you mind if I put my stuff in that closet?”

When Raphael agreed, Cassie set to putting her things away. Raphael said er goodnights, and left Cassie to it. Within minutes, Cassie had settled her things in and rearranged the bedding to her liking. Then she fell into her makeshift bed and fell asleep, comfortable for the first time since she’d left Ophidai City.

*****

Frustratingly, Gabriel’s ‘response’ back from Kelly was nothing of the sort. The queens had, with a great amount of political hedging, carefully acknowledged that they may (or may not) have taken in a friend of Gabriel’s, but without assurance of their possible visitor’s safety, they were hesitant to allow any letters through to such a person. On the one hand, he was grateful for their caution; it spoke well to the protection she had. On the other hand, he really needed to talk to her. With a sigh, he resolved to see what, if anything, Castiel could do once regular communications opened up. Surely the queens would trust their son-in-law?


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day! Well kind of. In my timezone, this is technically a different day. So there. Anyway, I'm going to set up one more chapter I can post from my phone, and then we'll see how convenient the library is for me. Anyway! Hope you like it!

Dean woke up to a familiar, if angry, face glaring down at him. 

“It’s about time you woke up.”

He grinned nervously. “Uh. Hey, Cassie.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Only you, my prince, would rush off and get yourself hurt trying to help someone else. I’m very sure your mothers had a long talk with you about that when you were ten and got yourself stuck in that tree trying to rescue Bela.”

“She was two! And she needed help!”

“And you, my liege, are afraid of heights and had to be rescued yourself when you realized how high you’d gotten,” Cassie said with a shake of her head. “Now you’re here, injured to the point you’ve scared your host. So let’s see what the damage is, and if I can get you moving again.”

Dean sighed and lay back, letting her carefully cut away the bandages that covered his tail. He suspected they needed changing anyway, so he didn’t bother to argue. He glanced over at Cas, hoping his husband, at least, was still asleep, but no such luck. Cas’s blue eyes were dancing with amusement. 

“This is a common problem, then?” Cas asked, turning to Cassie.

“We had _thought_ we’d broken him of it, actually, but clearly not.” Cassie stopped talking, sucking in a breath as she pulled back bandages to reveal the worst of Dean’s injuries. “Dean, what were you _thinking_?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Dean refused to answer. Cas had already lectured him once, and he had no desire to be lectured again.

Shaking her head, Cassie pulled the rest of the bandages off. “Well, the good news is, it looks like the princep did a good job cleaning your wounds, and they’ve been well scraped back. I’ll get together some supplies, a poultice to help draw out any remaining infection or dirt, and some creams to help with the itching I’m sure you’re feeling. You’re not going to get your broken schute scales back without a shed, but there are some good workarounds for that kind of thing.”

“You’re not going to induce a shed?” Dean asked.

Cassie shook her head. “Not unless we could send you home. Your last one was too recent, so we’d need to be able to monitor you a lot more than currently possible. Too many things could go wrong.”

“I’m not going home without Cas.”

“If it’s what’s best for your health, Dean,” Cas began, before Dean cut him off. 

“I said no. We go home together or not at all.”

Rolling her eyes, Cassie began digging in her bag, pulling out supplies. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. So we’ve got some alternatives. They’re not perfect, but they’ll do. Prince Castiel, lean in here if you would. Some of this you might be more comfortable doing yourself.”

“I’m no doctor,” Cas said. “I’m sure you’re much more qualified…”

“This is more about massaging in creams, similar to what happens when we shed. Dean shouldn’t be twisting too much for a while here,” Cassie explained. Dean flopped back onto the bed melodramatically while Cassie and his husband discussed creams and treatments, and then tried not to groan when they both began apply the creams. The damn itching was immediately less intense, and it only got better as more cream was applied. But having his childhood friend and his husband leaning over him both with hands on him was weird and a bit uncomfortable. The doctoring hadn’t bothered him so much when Cas was still unconscious, but between his husband’s participation and the fact that this felt a lot more like something he’d do by himself or with his partner in private, he was struggling to deal with his feelings on the matter.

“This is torture, you guys,” Dean complained.

“What is?” Raphael walked in just then, and smiled. “Ah, I see our patient finally has proper medical attention. Is there anything I can do to help? Perhaps something I might learn?”

Cassie nodded. “Yes, sire, I would be happy to go over things with you.”

Raphael nodded and took off er jacket, rolling up er sleeves. Dean threw his hands over his face and moaned. Nobody paid him any mind.

*****

Once both Raphael and Cassie were satisfied with how Dean was healing and Raphael had asked the most pressing of er questions, Raphael excused erself. E needed to go deal with the fact that e now had _two_ Cecropians in the caste, mostly by letting er parents know. In this case, Raphael was very sure that er father would be the more reasonable in this situation, and acted accordingly. 

“Father?” Raphael knocked on the door to er father’s private quarters.

At the muffled acknowledgement, Raphael went in, dropping er eyes and wings in supplication. E could feel er father’s eyes on er.

“Yes, my child? What is it?” Joshua asked. 

“I come to ask forgiveness,” Raphael replied.

“I thought we’d already dealt with this? Bringing the prince in was necessary.” Joshua raised an eyebrow. “Did you do something else that requires forgiveness?”

“I have, Father,” Raphael replied. “Prince Dean’s wounds were, unfortunately, beyond my ability to deal with by myself, as I have never studied Cecropian anatomy. Because of this, I sent to Cecropia for a medic. She arrived late last night.”

Joshua sighed, his wing feathers rippling with agitation. “Child, you ask much of me. We do not yet know whether the Cecropians had a hand in this attack.”

“I may be asking much, Father, but I do not think that allowing a foreign prince die in our care for lack of attention we were too stubborn to provide would repair damaged relations.” 

Shaking his head, Joshua raised his wings higher and Raphael knew e’d overstepped. Dropping to er knees, Raphael spread er wings in supplication. 

“It is too late to prevent the medic’s entry,” Joshua said. “And while you are right, the decision still should have been ours. However, you meant well. The medic may stay, confined to the medical wing or accompanied by you at all times. We will revisit these restrictions when the Prince is healed. Should supplies be necessary, their delivery can be arranged to the border, where Gabriel can arrange pickup. No further Cecropians will be allowed within the border.”

“Then you will be sending official word to the Cecropians?” Raphael asked.

“Yes, I suppose we ought to have already. Yes. Arrange it with Gabriel.” Joshua paused and then dropped his wings, raising an eyebrow at Raphael. “I am putting you in charge of monitoring correspondence. I fear your mother cannot be impartial in this. I trust your judgment in this. You’ve shown your reasoning in this matter is as impartial as I believe is possible. Do not cause me to regret this. Read everything before it is sent or received, and bring concerns directly to me. Is that clear?”

“Yes Father,” Raphael replied, straightening up. Swinging his wings forward, he met his father’s in a gentle touch, before Joshua pulled him into a hug.

“Be careful, my child. I do not wish any more harm to come to my children.”

“Always, Father. I will not cause you to grieve.”

“See that you don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: 
> 
> A 2yo in Cecropian terms would be closer to 4 or 5 in human terms. Because of the whole egg thing, and being in there a year, Cecropians do most of their infant stages in their egg before hatch. A 2yo might not be able to talk as well as a 4yo, but she would be more than equipped to climb a tree.
> 
> Reminder that Cecropian social norms are very different, particularly for royalty, and if this weren't a medical setting, Cassie would be vastly overstepping her bounds. Having lots of hands on him makes Dean uncomfortable.
> 
> There's a fair amount of "wing speak" that goes on. If you have questions, let me know. I tried to explain it well, but I'm not always good at that.


	21. Chapter 21

Dean looked up when Raphael walked back into the room. Cassie had just finished reapplying the bandages to his wounds, covering the poultices she’d made. Unlike Enochian medications, her poultice involved an agent designed to strengthen the underskin of Dean’s tail. It wouldn’t replace the schute scales--nothing besides a full shed would do that--but it would help the underskin become the next best thing. She had also had to do some minor surgical work on his belly, mainly in the form of cutting away things that weren’t healing right. Dean hadn’t been able to tell, but Cassie was on it, which he couldn’t help but be grateful for.

Raphael took in the scene and Dean would almost have said e smiled, but he wasn’t sure the Enochian princep was capable of such a thing. 

“I see you have taken the situation well in hand, Mistress Robinson.”

“Yes, your highness,” Cassie replied. But before she and Raphael could dive back into their discussion of Dean’s medical case and their mutual feelings towards what they referred to as his ‘stupidity,’ Dean interrupted.

“Hey, so, Cassie… Any news on my moms? Or… anything? From home?” Dean had a lot of questions, but the first thing he needed to know was if she knew anything at all. If she’d just been plucked off the streets by Raphael, it wasn’t likely she’d know much, after all.

“Lots. Most importantly, though, I have letters,” Cassie said. Dean perked up, but before he could ask about them Cassie turned to Raphael. “I’d given them to Prince Gabriel, but he returned them to me before he dropped me off. I’ve been instructed to allow the princes to see the unbroken seals before handing them over to your family.”

Raphael raised an eyebrow, while Dean cursed. Cas just sighed. “It makes sense, but Raphael, really? Must we go through that rigamarole? I do not believe that any member of Dean’s family had anything to do with the attack on me.”

“Be that as it may, Father has tasked me with the job of making sure that all communications are as innocent as you believe them to be. Which means,” Raphael said, turning to Cassie, “that you may give them the messages now, if you like. I will read them over after my brother and his husband have, this time. We will work something else out for further communication.”

“We’ll be able to write to the queens regularly?” Cas asked. 

“Of course. I’ll be drafting up an official correspondence later today, preferably with Dean’s help, and if you have personal letters you’d like to send with that, we can make sure that happens. I’ll have to review anything you send, but better me than the other options available. Mother is still very… unsure about this situation.”

Cas shifted from his position next to Dean and nodded. “Very well. Mother has her… biases. Can we see the letters, Cassie?”

Cassie pulled the letters out of her pack, and handed one over to Raphael. “This one is for you. Or, at least, for the royal family. I’m pretty sure the Queens thought it would go to Queen Naomi and King Joshua, but it sounds like you’re the one in charge actually?”

Raphael chuckled. “Of this aspect, at least. I would prefer to let my parents remain in charge of the rest of the country.”

Taking the letter she gave er, Raphael settled back to read it. Dean held his hand out to Cassie, wiggling his fingers. “All right, all right. Helical’s feet, you’re like a toddler. Are you sure you’re actually grown?”

Dean ignored her comments, taking the letter she handed over. Opening it, he found a second letter inside, labeled for Cas, and he gave that to his husband. Castiel settled in to deal with his own message, resting against Dean’s side. 

His moms were worried about him, Dean could read that much through the lines of their letter. They wrote clearly understanding that anything they said would be read by others, so it wasn’t as personal as Dean might have expected otherwise. Mostly, they wanted to know he was okay, that Cas was okay. They assured Dean that his brothers were safe, and that no one else in the family was injured. 

Dean grinned, looking over at Cas, only to see his husband covering his mouth in shock. 

“Cas? Baby? What’s wrong?”

*****

Castiel hadn’t really considered what a successful attack on his person meant, in general. In theory, he knew that his guards were there to lay down their lives for his, but it had never come up before. No one had said anything about Uriel when he woke up, so he’d… made an assumption as to Uriel’s whereabouts.

Uriel had never quite been a friend, not since his mother had made it clear that royalty did not befriend their servants, but he’d been a fixture in Castiel’s life since they were both young. Reading that the man who had been by his side for nearly as long as he could remember was gone was… difficult. 

Dean pulled Cas up into his arms, refusing to back down when Cas resisted. 

“Dean, your wounds…” Cas trailed off when Dean wouldn’t let him pull away, and just let his husband move him as he would. 

“Yeah yeah. You aren’t gonna hurt me. Come here. What’s wrong?” 

Cas silently handed over the letter, letting Dean skim through it. He could tell when Dean got to the relevant part, because Dean gave him a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m sorry…”

“Do you remember it? He must have gone down after I collapsed,” Cas said, looking down at the letter again.

“I… Actually, I don’t remember Uriel being there at all, now that I think about it. I was pretty focused on you.” Dean paused, glancing over at Cassie and then to where Raphael was still reading the official letter. “Cassie, do you remember what happened to Uriel? How he…?”

“How he what?” Cassie asked.

“How he died,” Cas finished. “He must have gone down fighting.”

“You were the only one that got hurt, Cas,” Cassie said, shaking her head. “The royal guards were able to take the Leviathan into custody without anyone else being injured, and they’re all still in the royal prison, as far as I know, waiting for official word from the Enochians on what should be done with them.”

Cas sat up, letting Dean hold his hips steady while he turned to Raphael. “Sibling, what does your letter say of Uriel?”

“Only that he fell in the line of duty, and that his body has been preserved with white vitriol and sawdust for transportation home as soon as possible,” Raphael replied. 

“Something doesn’t seem right about this,” Dean said. Cas nodded. 

“I don’t remember the attack itself, but… I remember…” Cas trailed off, then looked at Dean in alarm. “Kelly!”

*****

Raphael seemed surprised to find out that Kelly wasn’t at home, let alone in the country, and Castiel couldn’t help but find that surprising and suspicious. Looking back, he was sure Kelly was scared of something, but no one here seemed upset over anything that predated his own injury. But more than that, the fact that Kelly hadn’t even been missed was troubling. Surely her husband...

Since Castiel hadn’t been particularly discreet in asking about Kelly, there was very little choice in whether or not to trust Cassie and Raphael with the matter. He didn’t think there was necessarily a problem with trusting them, but things were not as they seemed. Despite any reservations he might have had, though, having Raphael by their side was really only going to be a benefit. So when it came time to craft responses, Cas decided that being straightforward was their only real option. Raphael agreed to keep Kelly’s presence secret, provided that it didn’t influence their country’s security. Somehow, they needed to get to the bottom of things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Underskin: a Cecropian's skin layer beneath the scaly skin layer.
> 
> Schute scales: The scales on a Cecropian's belly used to "walk" forward in a straight line
> 
> Reminder that after an attack of this sort, it's completely normal not to remember exactly what happened or the time period right before or after. Cas remembers the important part (Kelly), but that would have been well before the attack itself, especially because of how long Cecropian ceremonies can drag on. 
> 
> white vitriol: zinc sulphate, a preservative used for skins. In a mummification process, it is placed in a box with a body along with saw dust. The vitriol draws moisture from the body, releasing it into the sawdust and preserving the body by drying it out completely. This process can be helped along by evacuating the body's organs, but was not done in the case of Uriel as the Cecropians were unsure of his people's burial rituals. We'll see more about funeral procedures later.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More chapters! I hope you guys don't mind, cuz I'm gonna do a couple tonight and set up a third. We're trucking right to the end of this part!

The days it took for a response from their sons was torture to the Queens, but when an Enochian, dressed in the royal colors, dropped to the ground outside the city walls, Mary immediately sent an escort to bring them to her. The Enochian bowed low, fanning their wings out to display their colors.

 

“Queen, I am Hester, she/her, sent to you through Prince Merchant Gabriel to be your official courier until the princes are healed and other arrangements can be made. I come bearing official news from Enochia.” 

 

Mary took the letters from Hester, sending her off to be fed and rested.  While Hester was occupied, Mary went to find Kate, and they opened their packet of letters. 

 

Kate was the one who noticed Castiel’s signature at the bottom of the first letter, along with Dean’s. Their relief was palpable, and it made reading the rest of it easier, knowing that their boys were both awake and safe. The letter from Dean and Cas was conversational, apparently unconcerned with what other eyes might read, which told the Queens that their letters were at least not highly scrutinized. The boys wanted a more detailed explanation for what had happened the day of the attack, particularly in regards to Uriel. Mary and Kate were not sure exactly how much they should say on that, but it was something they’d need to deal with eventually. 

 

The official royal communication was pretty much exactly what the Queens had expected initially, before the borders had shut down. There was a request for Uriel’s body, and details for where to send it. The Enochians also wanted the Leviathan who had attacked Cas punished, but surprisingly they left that task up to the Queens. Hester, it stated, would be on hand to witness. Attempted assassination of royalty carried a death sentence in Enochia, it seemed. It was something the two countries shared. Mary wasn’t quite sure what to make of the instructions for the Leviathan’s remains once the execution was complete, but perhaps Hester would be willing to answer questions. As for the Leviathan not directly involved, that was left to the Cecropians’ discretion. Mary was tempted to execute them all, but that would be a discussion to have with her counsel. It wouldn’t do to start a war with Purgatorio.

 

Kelly’s letter made them pause. The question of how to deal with it was a hard one. Neither Benny nor Kelly could come collect it, nor could either of the Queens take it to her personally, for fear of drawing attention to the refugee princess. Opening it before giving it to her might be expected, but without letting her see the unbroken seal beforehand, the princess would have no way to verify the contents were from her family, even with assurances from the Queens. The decision, finally, was to call Balthazar in, have him verify the seal, then take the letter to the princess after they’d read it.

 

Balthazar wasn’t difficult for the servants to track down, since he was still living at the castle, and within a couple of hours he was in their receiving chambers, bowing low and spreading his wings. “My Queens?”

 

“We have received official news from the Enochian royalty,” Kate began, and Balthazar’s wings drooped, though his face remained neutral as he straightened. “The news is good. Dean is alive, and being treated. Castiel, though gravely injured, did not die. Apparently there was some misinformation.”

 

The Enochian’s wings shot straight up, nearly touching the ceiling, rippling with emotion. Balthazar looked like he wanted to shout with joy, but Mary could tell he was restraining himself. She smiled. 

 

“We were happy, too. And we’re sorry for spreading rumors that hurt you,” Mary said.

 

“No, no, my Queens, I… This is the best news I have gotten in… Well. I am very happy, I swear.”

 

“And with that in mind, we have a request,” Kate said. “Castiel has sent along a message within the one he and Dean sent. This one is addressed to the princess. We would like to read it before giving it to her, in case there is information we need to know. The situation right now is volatile. But we do not wish to cause her to mistrust the contents by giving her a letter with a broken seal. We were hoping you would be willing to witness our breaking the seal, so that you can reassure the princess.”

 

“Of course! Of course,” Balthazar said. Then he paused, and glanced away. “Did Castiel send anything to me?”

 

Mary hated to disappoint this man, especially when he’d been so invaluable to them, but she couldn’t lie. “I’m sorry.”

 

Balthazar shook his head, quickly fluffing and rearranging his wings before they settled into their normal position on his back. “No, no, my Queen. It is no matter. I’m sure he has more important things to do.”

 

“You will be sending him a letter, of course, now that we know he’s alive,” Kate said with a smile, flicking the end of her tail in his direction.

 

“I will?”

 

“Of course. It’s only proper as his friend. I won’t accept anything less than a full page, so that you can update him of everything,” Kate grinned. “Now, down to business.”

 

Pulling out the letter, Mary handed it over to Balthazar to inspect. To his credit, he took it seriously. When he handed it back to her, she was sure that if nothing else, it was well-sealed and a genuine letter from Castiel. 

 

The letter itself was not terribly unexpected. Balthazar and Benny had mentioned that Kelly had been unable to tell Castiel her news before the attack, so it was mostly an attempt to tactfully ask her why she was there. Besides that, there was little to no real substance in the letter, and Mary could tell that it had been dictated, since it was in Dean’s handwriting. A note at the bottom explained that Dean was writing because Castiel felt he was an over-vigilant, overprotective… at which point the letter cut off with a messy scrawl, and Mary could just picture her boys bickering, before Dean handed over the letter and allowed Castiel to sign his own name. That, more than anything, eased her mind about how her boys were doing. 

 

Chuckling, she handed the letter over to Kate, who read it and smiled before handing it to Balthazar.

 

“Make sure that gets to the princess. We’ll also be dealing with the Leviathan tonight, so if you were wanting to be on hand for that, please be back before nightfall. I have instructions from Enochia for the one involved in the actual attack,” Kate said.

 

“And the ones not directly involved?” Balthazar asked. Mary was pretty sure the way he held his wings was meant to excuse the rather rude question, but frankly she knew if she were in his place, she’d be asking the same, so she couldn’t be upset.

 

“Despite what we might wish, only Mister Cameron Gaines attacked. Emissary Roman and Mister Edgar Collins might have found the situation… distastefully amusing, but there is no proof it was anything other than a spur of the moment attack.” Kate pulled a face as she spoke, and Mary knew she was wishing they’d found something, _anything_ , on their persons or in their belongings, to have suggested it was planned from the beginning. “Since we cannot prove they were in on it, we cannot hold them, nor can we harm them. Once Mister Gaines is dealt with, the other two will be allowed to leave. In fact, they will be _encouraged_ to do so.”

 

“As quickly as possible,” Mary added. 

 

Balthazar grimaced, but he nodded. “I understand, my Queens. It would not be wise to start a war with the Leviathan right now. You are fortunate to have wise advisors and steady heads.”

 

With a laugh, Mary shook her head. “Balthazar, I imagine you were quite the popular one in the Enochian royal family.”

 

“Oh no, Your Highness. Queen Naomi couldn’t stand me. Apparently I am a teensy bit brusque,” Balthazar said, bowing with a flourish. 

 

“I see. Well, in either case, we’ll be making official announcements on everything we’ve spoken about within the hour. The official courier will be leaving no later than midday tomorrow, so be back with your letter to the princes before then,” Mary said. Then she glanced at Kate, raising an eyebrow. When Kate nodded, Mary continued. “It seems the princes are not being heavily monitored in their communications, judging from what has been said, so we will extend the same courtesy. You and the princess both may seal your letters, and we will seal them within one package. Do not abuse our trust.”

 

Balthazar bowed deeply, taking the letter for the princess and leaving at the dismissal. Once the doors shut behind him and the queens were alone again, Mary turned to her wife. 

 

“Shall we begin preparations?”

 

*****

 

Uriel’s body, already stored in a wooden box for preservation purposes, was easy enough to load onto a cart for transport back to Enochia. Arrangements had been made for it to be met at the border already, so all Kate had to do was give the tow cart owner directions so that she could take the box to the right place. Following Balthazar’s advice about concealing the actual cause of Uriel’s death, Kate set an armed guard to travel with the tow cart, as she would have without a second thought for a loyal soldier who had given his life to protect the royal in his care. The fact that it was a lie galled her, but it was a necessary lie.

 

Meanwhile, Mary composed the official royal announcement, then sent it off to Bobby. He would do the necessary work of getting the word out, having the announcement copied as quickly as possible by as many scribes as he could find, and then posted, in the capital and in every city the royal heralds could get to as fast as possible. He would also be in charge of composing the royal message to her husband. King John didn’t listen to much of anyone, not even his wives, but he respected Bobby enough to usually hear him out before he flew off the handle. At one point, Mary would have said she was the best at dealing with John, but that was before her attempt at making peace with Alastair. After…  It wasn’t that John didn’t trust her judgement, but… He no longer had the ability to keep a cool head regarding his wives and bad news. 

 

Once that was done, it was time to decide the method of execution for Cameron Gaines. This was harder. Leviathan rarely traveled this far inland, especially in a diplomatic matter. Neither Mary nor Kate had any experience with the punishment of a Leviathan. Although it could not be said that the war-hungry Leviathan kept to themselves, they did not often offer details of their culture to outsiders. What the queens did know, however, came from the front lines on the west coast, and it was what made their task difficult. 

 

It was widely known that Leviathan were _extremely_ difficult to kill. Not only were they venomous, but nothing short of a full dismemberment was guaranteed to kill them. That was probably ( _probably_ ) an exaggeration from superstitious soldiers, but it was true that they could survive and regrow most anything. It was one of the things that made them so fearsome, because they didn’t lose their soldiers the way Cecropians did. If they made it off the field, no matter how maimed, it was not at all rare to see them back in the thick of battle within a season. 

 

Neither Mary nor Kate really had the stomach to watch anything resembling a dismemberment, though, assuming they could find someone to perform it. They would do it if they had to, but… That also meant that a simple beheading was out, because there was no guarantee that it would work. Mary was nearly positive that no one survived beheading, but there was more at stake here than just her own people, and they didn’t have the luxury of time. Hester would need to be sent back soon, and with news that the Enochian royalty’s wishes regarding body disposal was taken care of.

 

Eventually, they decided that the easiest thing to do was to go ahead with burning him, which would satisfy the Cecropian people, then deal with the body as the Enochians wished, and finally store each body part in white vitriol, the boxes just large enough for each part. The desiccation process would surely be enough to ensure the man was dead. And there was a certain amount of poetry in burning a man who spent the majority of his life in the water.

 

Once that was settled, it was time to call in Hester, to be sure they understood what the Enochians wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note:
> 
> So this is a reminder that Leviathan are axolotl people. Like most salamanders, this means they have the ability to regrow limbs. Yes, there is some exaggeration going on, but it is because people legitimately don't know a lot about the Leviathan. Much like Dean's people thought that Enochians came back from the dead because of their ability to go into _torpid_ , there are a lot of rumors, and no one is quite sure what's true and what's not. Keep in mind that the Leviathan will happily lie to get their way, and soldiers are not reliable narrators on this kind of thing either.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new character appears here! Also, Sam's plotline starts. I'm excited you guys.

Sam watched the execution from his place next to his mothers, Eileen by his side. Within a week, the official announcement of their engagement would go out. For now, the people were left to wonder. Sam had no intention of witnessing this without her by his side. Her translator stood off to the side, in an alcove designed just for this purpose, so that she and every other deaf Cecropian would know what charges had been brought forth by the executioner. 

For the sake of his people and his brothers, Sam did not look away while the Leviathan burned. Neither did Eileen, something that only made him more sure that he’d made the right decision in asking her to stand beside him. When it was over, one of the royal priests stepped forward. The body, burned but intact, was pulled from the ashes and laid out before him.

“This man has not only broken the laws of the earth and sky,” the priest intoned, speaking slowly in a way that spoke of solemnity but Sam knew had more to do with the unfamiliarity of the ceremony itself, “but the laws of the gods and goddesses. As such, his body cannot be returned to the sky or ground.”

It didn’t help that the ceremony was something of a mishmash. By and large, once a criminal was dead, Cecropians did not have any ceremonies surrounding their body. Cecropians, criminal or not, were returned to the earth, buried in the ground in the hope that they would be reborn in the next life to better their choices, just as Mother Eartia dies and is reborn year after year. The only real difference was, in fact, that criminals in Cecropia were generally buried without ceremony in unmarked graves in the Outlaw Graveyard, to be unmourned and forgotten. 

The Enochians, however, had specifically requested a ceremony, and one in which neither Enochian nor Cecropian funeral rituals were used. So the priest was attempting to make a ceremony out of what Hester had been able to explain to them was expected, while still acknowledging both cultures. Sam did not envy him the task. 

“Upon this soul may there be no refuge in the sky, no rest on the earth. May he never visit the oceans of his ancestors, nor find comfort in the arms of his gods. We shall not, on this day or any following, offer his body to the sky. We shall not, on this day or any following, offer his body to the earth. Instead, he will be interred at the Outlaw Graveyard, kept separate from the comforts his soul would otherwise enjoy.”

With that, the priest lifted a container prepared earlier to Hester’s specifications, and poured it over the body. The mixture was made of water, lye, and salt, which Hester explained would deter animals. No one, not even Sam, understood quite what to make of that, but Hester had not offered an explanation and they did not ask for one. The idea that animals were a common problem for the deceased in Enochia was more than a little disturbing. There was a reason, after all, that Cecropians buried their dead, beyond the religious ramifications. 

Once that was done, Queen Mary offered a short speech, mostly centered around laying blame at the dead Leviathan’s feet and not onto either of the others, while still making it clear that the Leviathan were to leave and not return. It was not a banishment, officially, but it _was_ a revocation of welcome. The body was put onto a sled and towed away, while Emissary Roman and his remaining partner were escorted away publicly, though their exit from the city would be done privately. Dean was much beloved among the people, and Castiel had earned the love of the people both through Dean’s love for him and his own actions. It would not do for a private citizen to decide to take matters into their own hands, no matter that Sam felt like doing the same. 

Sam did not know what the plans were for the body before interment. He did know, however, that while the body could not be buried per Enochian request, there was no proper building at the Outlaw Graveyard to place it, let alone someplace that would not be vandalized. His mothers had assured him they would handle it, and he suspected that within a few months a permanent, secure structure would go up. 

When it was completely over, Sam, his brother, mothers, and Eileen left their viewing area. The crowd, with a tendency towards morbidity, would often pick through the remains of the pyre, but only after the royalty was gone. It was fine by Sam. He had other plans. The Leviathan delegates might have to reach the border unscathed, but nothing said they were required to make it home in good condition. 

Or at all.

*****

Metatron sealed the letter he’d written, tucking it into the small capsule specially designed for such things. The capsule was then sealed, and then placed into a pocket that was wrapped around his dove’s leg. The dove, unlike many in Cecropia that had been bred for beauty and color, was plain, drab, far more similar to the wild doves than to the fancy breeds the nobles were captivated by. This dove, however, had been trained for a very precise reason. It was trained to go to only two locations: his own house, and the home of his benefactor and colleague. A dove, unlike official correspondence, moved quickly and secretly, and Metatron could be nearly positive that his letter would reach his benefactor long before the Enochian monarchs knew about the same news. And, in case the dove was intercepted, he wrote in code anyway.

It had been years since Metatron’s disgrace and banishment from Enochia. ‘Crimes of sedition and treason,’ they’d said at his trial. It was a load of wudugaat scytel. He’d written a _book_. A fictional book, about a royal son, and evil, conniving parents. Sure, the parents might have had _small_ similarities to Queen Naomi and King Joshua, minor details really. Nothing that anyone could possibly misconstrue. It wasn’t his fault that the king and queen had taken his story _completely_ out of context.

After he’d been run out of town, though, he’d had nowhere to go. He’d made his way, carefully, to one of the small towns outside of the Cecropian capital. Metatron hadn’t wanted to draw attention to himself, but he had no interest in living in the middle of nowhere, either. Sure, he could write from anywhere, but he had to be able to find scribes. There was no way he would write all the copies himself, and of course, although his lands and possessions had been seized, he was far too smart to leave all his riches where they could be easily found. He _did_ have a lifestyle to maintain, after all.

Being close to Ophidai City had allowed him the opportunity to continue his _definitely not seditious_ writing. He’d been able to trade his works to people who had then taken it back to Enochia, published under a pseudonym that the royalty had not yet been able to trace back to him. And then, one day, he’d been approached by another Enochian. A man of no little authority in the Enochian line, who had brought word of… Others, who had been impressed by Metatron’s imagination. And one person, one _Enochian_ , in particular, who wanted to employ a man of Metatron’s skills, particularly since Metatron had advantages in location.

So Metatron had started new tasks. The first, easiest job was simply to begin writing stories of Enochians, meant for Cecropian readers. There was very little fact to the stories, more fluff than substance, but his goal had not been to convey reality. No, Metatron’s goal had been to introduce the Enochians as potential allies, a society that would not be too dangerous or too strange to bring into a treaty with. A society with many royal children, that could easily spare one to cement an alliance. 

His second, more important task, was to keep his colleagues informed once his first job had come to fruition. That had involved moving closer into the city, something that was easily explained away with his newfound popularity as a writer for Cecropian audiences. It also involved sending word to his colleague about important matters.

Metatron had not been close enough to the stage to have seen everything that went down, but he had seen the Enochian prince collapse. His dove had been in the wind within an hour, on its way to Fleamdom so that the next part of the plan could be dealt with. It hadn’t been until almost a day later that word had gotten out that _Prince Dean himself_ had been the one to attempt the trip with Prince Castiel to Enochia to save the Enochian’s life. His colleague had been upset about the lack of information, and Metatron did not wish to fail him again.

This time, his dove took the news of the execution of the Leviathan, as well as the not-quite-banishment of the criminal’s associates. It took news of the fact that there seemed to be official contact between the two sets of monarchs, though it was strained at best. And it took news of the Leviathans’ probable route out of the country. Just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> wudugaat scytel: Enochian for "goat shit"
> 
> And yes! There is communication by bird. Why did the queens not use this? Because it's not suitable for official communication (not reliable enough) and besides, Queen Naomi wouldn't have responded. This is _spy_ communication.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More new characters, and the return of Crowley. We see what he's been working on this whole time!

Meg rolled her eyes, shuffling out of bed with a groan. “You are damn lucky I love you, babe.”

Rolling her eyes right back at her wife, Ruby crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t be a sore loser. I won the coin toss fair and square. Now, I need mackerel and mango, pronto. Sweetie.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m sure your strange-ass craving food will be extremely easy to find at the crack of dawn. Lemme just get dressed and I’ll head off to the closed market. Right away. Immediately.” Meg’s sarcasm was so thick it could be practically cut with a knife, but Ruby just laughed.

“You’re a miracle worker, lover-girl. I have every faith in you.”

*****

On the bright side, despite the fact that the markets were very very closed, Meg did have a few advantages to getting things she wanted. The most obvious one, of course, was being the heir-daughter of the Flavoklus family. Alastair Flavoklus believed in the benefits of being the boss, so it wasn’t too difficult to find someone to put together a rather disgusting looking mackerel and mango salad. 

She was watching the sun come up while she waited for the food when she heard a soft noise behind her. Meg tensed up, not bothering to turn around.

“You don’t know what you’re messing with, bucko, if you think you’re going to get the drop on me,” Meg said.

The man behind her just laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.”

“Crowley.”

The son of the Macleod clan stepped up beside her, smirking in her direction without quite looking directly at her. It wasn’t the most subtle attempt at talking without appearing to be talking, but it was early enough in the day to go unnoticed for the most part.

“Aye. And you would be Meg, daughter of Alastair and next in line for control of this region. I wonder if you know what Daddy Dearest is up to right now.”

Meg snorted. “I imagine he’s squabbling with the snakes again. With the rains over, it seems that’s his favorite pastime. I don’t concern myself with my father’s business without permission.”

Crowley hummed thoughtfully. Meg wanted to look at him more closely, sure he was hiding something, but it really was best to not draw too much attention to herself by being interested in a stranger. Especially once the rumor mill figured out who that stranger was. Two people watching the sunrise and waiting for the market to open while apparently exchanging smalltalk was far less interesting.

“I think, my dear, that it might behoove you to take an interest, just this once. Daddy is planning something big, big enough that if it fails, it may take the whole province down with it,” Crowley finally said. 

“And what do you know of it, Crowley? I know my father doesn’t take kindly to spies in his midst.”

Crowley only chuckled. It unnerved Meg. “Oh, I didn’t spy on him. Much, anyway. But a little birdie told me that his current business partners aren’t neighbors. In fact, they’re from way way out of town, and if my sources are correct, they’re likely setting him up to take the fall when our neighbors get mad. Neighborly squabbles happen, but if our neighbors and their new friends get poked too hard, well… That could be bad news for all of us.”

“And what do you propose we do about it?” Meg asked. The thought of Enochia and Cecropia bringing the full force of their armies against her province was not pleasant. The treaty between the countries was old news, since Enochians had arrived at the border. So far, though, they had only worked to protect Cecropian land. 

King John may have had a grudge against Alastair, and certainly would be happy to meet him on the battlefield, but he had no desire to start a war. He kept to his side of the border, picking off Agaranese soldiers who came too far and battling when necessary to protect his people. Meg had sometimes wondered if things would have been different if King John had not been the king. The Cecropian was obsessed. 

Of course, it didn’t help that Alastair not only claimed responsibility for Prince Sam’s childhood illness, but also flaunted about in the antique Cecropian leather coat. It had been in the family for generations, first tanned by an expert tanner to the highest quality, and then carefully preserved. It was, at one time, only brought out for special occasions. After all, despite being well-made and well-preserved, it was still old, and keeping it in good shape meant not using it for its intended purpose very often. It was made back when open warfare between the countries was common, and when the Agaranese people had seen no issue with wearing the skins of the Cecropians.

Most of the clothing made during that time had long since been discarded, too battered and ill-used to last, but this coat, the royal coat, had survived. Meg doubted anyone in Cecropia knew who the skin used to make it had once been, but that didn’t matter, When her father rode the battlefront wearing the skin of his enemies, it threw the Cecropians into a fever pitch. No one could see it and not recognize it for what it was. 

With Alastair going out of his way to antagonize King John, there was no reason to believe that any move the Enochians made to frame Alastair for their own treachery would be recognized as a trick. And if it was a bold enough move, a treacherous enough move, King John would not hesitate to retaliate. In fact, he would likely go to extremes to get his revenge in the matter. He’d been looking for an excuse for decades now.

“Well now, that _is_ the question. I hear you have a bundle of joy on the way, yes?” Crowley’s words shook Meg out of her thoughts. 

“Leave my family out of this, Macleod.”

“I would if I could, my dear, but unfortunately it’s your family that seems to be making trouble for all of us. Do you really think that our neighbors, if instigated, would forgive _any_ member of your father’s family? Worse, I doubt our neighbors care very much that most of the provinces don’t support anything your father has done, and would be _extremely_ displeased to be dragged into his petty catfight,” Crowley said, straightening his jacket. 

Meg growled. Unfortunately, Crowley was right. “And what do you propose?”

“My mother has more than enough information right now to go to Court and request an audience. The problem is, she doesn’t have enough to guarantee a favorable outcome, particularly if the only solution to our issue with your father is to… ah. _Appropriate_ his holdings,” Crowley said. “However, with you on our side, we have both an answer to the problem of his property, shall we say, and also a means to obtain more information.”

“You want me to spy on my father.” Meg was not quite sure she’d heard that right. 

“Spy is such a harsh term. But yes. I’m trying to prevent a war here, and I would think you’d wish to do the same. Our neighbors will be more than happy to wipe you off the map, and embroil the rest of us into a conflict that could last years, decades even. I’m quite comfortable with my life as it is, my dear, and I will not hesitate to sell anyone I have to down the river to maintain it. Do you understand?”

Crowley’s words left Meg cold. Worse, she didn’t see how he was wrong. Ousting her father might be the only way to prevent war, and if he was doing what it sounded like he was, she couldn’t even argue it wasn’t for the best. With a sigh, she nodded.

“How do I get in touch with you, if I do this?”

Meg felt a touch brush against her hand, as Crowley pressed a small piece of paper into her palm. She carefully slipped it immediately into her pocket. 

“Send a messenger to that location with your information. They’ll make sure it gets to me.”

With a nod, Meg turned to head back towards the booth where her wife’s food was waiting. 

“And Meg, darling?” Crowley began. “Do be careful. I wouldn’t trust your father’s affection for you, not now that your bloodline has a potential heir planted, if not born.”

Meg didn’t respond. She grabbed her wife’s strange pregnancy-craving meal and headed for her house. She knew more than anyone that her father’s love was conditional on many factors, not the least of which was loyalty. If she hadn’t just sired a child, if she didn’t have a beautiful wife at home waiting for a mango and mackerel salad, Meg thought she would probably be willing to just watch the world burn.

But she wouldn’t do that to her wife, and she wouldn’t do that to her child. 

So she took a deep breath,and walked home with her food. She’d take a nap, and then it would be time to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> The big one here is a reminder that when it comes to gender, biology is fluid for the Agaranese people. A sire is the person who provides the sperm, a dame is the person who provides the egg, and both of them can be mothers or fathers or parents of any stripe.


	25. Chapter 25

Once Cas was awake, it hadn’t taken long for him to recover his strength. As a soldier, he’d had injuries before, and he knew the best thing to do after a long convalescence, was to begin working his muscles back into shape. At first, he did most of his exercises in the medical ward, with Dean watching in amusement. After a while though he needed more space, especially to stretch his wings, and he and Dean began taking strolls through the castle, where Cas would find a traverse alcove. He began with basket exercises, with a rigger moving his basket out into the air, where he would go through his wing stretches with the resistance of the wind to build back his muscle tone. Eventually, he was able to start flying, and he couldn’t help but be pleased. It had been too long.

It had only taken a few days to realize that Dean had not been eating properly. Apparently, his husband had not bothered to tell anyone that his dietary needs were significantly different, a fact that Raphael showed so much exasperation over when e found out that Cas thought e might actually pull a muscle. Instead, Dean had been eating on an Enochian’s schedule, which went some way to explain why he wasn’t necessarily healing as quickly as he should. With two Cecropians in residence in the castle though, there was no reason for them not to eat properly.

Dean’s friendship with the Wool Guild proved fruitful. The prince had hats, scarves, sweaters, felted jackets, blankets, tail covers, mittens, and a felted belt with pockets and pouches that looked something like what Cas remembered Dean wearing in Ophidai City. They had also made him two very long ponchos and a cape, in an apparent attempt to imitate Cecropian clothing. None of it looked remotely like what Dean and his family had worn at home, but Cas thought it looked a lot like what Enochians would make if asked to make Cecropian clothing. The fact that Dean would wear the ponchos with the belt outside them made more than one person fan their flight wings and raise an eyebrow, but the Cecropian prince was so pleased with this “new fashion” that no one had the heart to tell him that a poncho was generally considered outerwear. 

They were out on one of their excursions when Dean suddenly stopped and excused himself.

“Dean? Where are you going?” Cas followed Dean despite his apparent desire for privacy.

“Hold up babe, I just have to use the little snake’s hole,” Dean replied. Then he headed for the trapdoor in the hallway.

“The… what no--” Cas cut himself off as he watched Dean flip the trapdoor up and drop the tip of his tail into it. “Dean! No! That’s not--!”

Dean flinched, his tail banging against the side of the hole in the floor. Suddenly a cacophony of noise arose from the hole, and Dean’s head swiveled to stare at the trapdoor. Jerking his tail out, he nearly fell over as an extremely agitated chicken flapped its way out from under the floor.

“Cas! What the fuck??”

The noise drew several residents in the castle, especially the angry crowing as another three chickens found their way to freedom before anyone thought to close the trapdoor. It took more than a little time to wrangle the animals back into the basement, and more than that for Cas to be able to stop laughing every time he looked at Dean. 

Dean, for his part, was thoroughly embarrassed. Cas understood where the confusion was, since the trapdoors to the castle’s basement didn’t look terribly different from the Cecropian cloaca holes, except in location.

“When you came into the city, Dean, did any of the houses have their lower level open?” Cas asked once they were back in what was currently passing as ‘their room.’ 

“Um. Sort of, but I’ll be honest Cas, I was pretty out of it for most of the trip. We told you about the wannabe assassins in Haefenton,” Dean said. “Most of the trip is a blur.”

“Ah. That explains it then. Well, you see… The first level of a Cecropian house is generally animal housing. In the castle it also houses the barracks, and our food storage,” Cas said, keeping a straight face even as Dean’s got more and more horrified. “Plus the primary heating fires are built down there, with the hot air rising through the buildings through pipes. It all helps keep the rest of the building comfortably warm.”

“Why didn’t the chickens attack before?” Dean asked, his voice close to a wail.

“I would imagine that you were lucky enough to have never ah… used the facilities while they were unpenned. In the summer months the birds don’t even stay inside for the most part, but in winter…” Cas trailed off as Dean buried his face in his hands and wrapped his tail around himself like he could disappear inside it.

“I can’t believe I’ve been pooping on your chickens,” Dean mumbled, just loud enough that Cas heard it. 

It took a long time for Cas to stop laughing.

*****

Despite their good humor in public, behind closed doors Cas and Dean were concerned. For now, Dean was still limited to the medical ward, though Cassie and Raphael had agreed that they could be moved to a private guest room by Midwinter provided Dean’s health continued to improve. It meant that conversation had to be quiet, and careful, and sometimes coded. They could send everyone out, if they had to, and often did, but it would be far better to simply have their own space. 

It made figuring out what to do with Kelly’s news extremely difficult, and Dean was determined to convince Raphael that they needed their own space sooner. Midwinter was still over two months away, and Shit Was Going Down. Castiel had taken it hard, finding out that Uriel had betrayed him and the throne. Worse, that his own brother likely ordered the attempt on his life. Dean did his best to comfort him, but both of them preferred action over waiting and watching. Dean had some ideas for what needed to happen, but nothing could be discussed until they had their own room. 

And the news from Benny just kept getting worse.

*****

Benny was beginning to get concerned. The princess was definitely pregnant; her belly had rounded, and when she had peed on the grain it had sprouted. Benny had also had her pee on one of the frogs he’d gotten, and it had produced eggs. That had been one of her last good days, though they hadn’t realized it at the time. Something about the joy of confirming the new additions to their families, he supposed. 

Shortly after they’d been able to finally start communicating with Castiel, though, Balthazar had begun to fret. Benny hadn’t thought much about it at the time. Balthazar was somewhat dramatic at the best of times, and it made since that, with a member of his royalty in hiding while secretly pregnant, the Cecropian would be more than a little overemotional. But within a few weeks, Benny had noticed it too.

Princess Kelly’s pregnancy was not going well. Benny did what he could, as did Balthazar, but Kelly couldn’t seem to keep food down at all. She had taken to lying in bed nearly all the time. At first, she’d used the hammock that Benny had made for her, but it became too difficult to get out of when she needed to get out, and finally they’d resorted to building a sort of cushion with pillows on the bed Dean would normally have used. It helped support her back and wings, and kept her partially upright, which seemed to help the nausea. 

Balthazar had been bringing back as many remedies as he could, and Benny had been trying to find things locally, as well as some of his own medicines from Andrea. Nothing was helping. 

Kelly’s best guess had been that she was roughly three months along when she had fled to Cecropia. She’d talked, a bit, about the fear of watching her husband leave for war, and the decision she’d made to hide her pregnancy until she thought it wouldn’t be a distraction to her husband or his family. Privately, Benny and Balthazar wondered if the stress was at the core of her difficulties, but the best they could offer was more anti-nausea medication and as many calming teas as they could get her to drink. 

The princess had been adamant that she was not going to ‘burden’ Castiel with her troubles, but Balthazar had decided that it would be best if his friend knew, and had taken it upon himself to tell the prince in their next message. The next letter Castiel had sent contained with it a wide variety of Enochian medications and instructions on how to use them. Benny had immediately set upon learning all he could about the medicines, and offered them to the princess as often as he could. 

It helped, a little, but Kelly was still weak. As the days and weeks progressed, she began to get despondent, waking up from nightmares screaming. She begged Benny to take care of her children if she didn’t make it through. Benny promised everything she asked, but always tried his best to reassure her that she would be okay. 

He wished he was sure of that.

*****

Raphael was not pleased. Things were beginning to stabilize between er parents and their unexpected visitors. Not that er parents had actually visited since Cassie had arrived, but er mother was less...antagonistic towards the Cecropians. Castiel had gone to visit their mother while Dean was napping a few times, and she had all but stopped insinuating that the foreign prince had somehow cast a spell over Castiel. His love for his husband was undeniably genuine, as was Dean’s love for her son, and it went a long way to calm Naomi’s fears. 

That was all good news, and if that were the only thing going on, Raphael would be flying loops of joy. Metaphorically, of course. But e had been (accidentally, e knew, but nevertheless) let in on Kelly’s whereabouts and the condition she was in. To have er sister-in-law more than several days journey away was bad enough, but e couldn’t help with her pregnancy much from this far away. It was very very frustrating. In any other situation, Raphael would have been on the road immediately, but e had duties in the castle he couldn’t abandon, never mind that er parents would never allow another of their children to leave the country until they’d satisfied themselves that everything was safe.

Besides that, since being brought into what Dean was calling Team Winged Cobra, Raphael had learned of the suspicions that had caused Kelly to retreat to the Cecropians. E had a hard time believing such a thing of any of er siblings, even Lucifer. But _something_ had scared the princess into leaving, and presumably while with child, if the letters were to be believed. 

Enochian pregnancies were difficult. Single births were rare, almost unheard of, and largely seen with suspicion. Just like Ealdan had multiple aspects, it was understood that their child-bearers were blessed with multiple children. If a family had too many single births, it was generally believed that there was something wrong. Raphael didn’t believe in curses, like many of er fellow Enochians, but e did believe in disease and medical problems. E had dealt with many people with fertility issues.

Even the royal family had their issues. After two successful pregnancies, which gave them first Michael and Lucifer and then Gabriel and Raphael, Naomi’s third birth had been rife with difficulties, and ultimately only one child survived. Although technically Anna had had a twin in the womb, rumors had flown for years afterwards that Anna had somehow cursed the family by being a single birth. One of the reasons their parents had made the decision to have another pregnancy so quickly after Anna was to attempt to dispel such talk. Castiel and James had been born a year after Anna, and while publicly it was announced that the queen and king had jointly made the decision to stop attempting for children, privately the truth was that Naomi’s health had suffered greatly. Four births in six years was hard on the body, and with more than enough heirs, it wasn’t necessary to continue risking the queen’s health. 

An Enochian pregnancy was 8 months long, and required a fair amount of oversight for the birth. Enochian children were born with a very thin skin covering them, which allowed the infant’s wings to pass through the birth canal without getting stuck. Usually, anyway. With two children to be born, as well as the placentas, a birth assistant or two was vital for the lives of the babies. Someone had to get that skin off the infants quickly, and birth was a tiring process for the parent involved. 

If Kelly had stayed in Enochia, like she should have, she would have had the comfort of her own room until the last week, when she and her husband, as well as their chosen helpers, would have secluded themselves in the sacred protective caves to give birth. Raphael would have made sure of her comfort and safety emself. But flying to Cecropia, alone… Raphael was worried. And until e knew more about what had scared her, e couldn’t soothe her fears enough to bring her back, and e couldn’t leave to go to her. 

So instead, Raphael was heading to go talk to er twin. Gabriel always seemed to know what was going on in the castle, and was very skilled at making things happen. Perhaps he could help with this situation.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter! So many things are happening!
> 
> Also, my laptop fixed itself, so a lot of the things that have made writing and posting difficult are no longer issues. Hopefully that will mean that, with an easier homelife, things will percolate faster and I'll be able to start posting the next part sooner!

Lucifer was absolutely _furious_. “Where in the name of Eald is she?!”

Zachariah ducked his head, attempting a placating tone. “We are searching, my lord, but it seems no one has seen or heard anything…”

“Yes. You’ve said that. And yet _someone_ should have seen _something_. A royal princess doesn’t just go _missing_.” Lucifer was pacing back and forth in his quarters, desperately wishing he could simply snap his fingers and make Zachariah disappear. The man was a sniveling people pleaser, which certainly helped in some matters. But not now. Not this. 

“If we had some idea of where she might go…” Zachariah started again.

Growling, Lucifer turned on Zachariah. “If I knew that, do you think she would still be missing? She is not with her family, nor here, and the only thing missing is her nightclothes. I expect your experts to be able to find her. She’s a soft girl; she can’t possibly have gotten far alone.”

Zachariah nodded. “Of course, my lord. We will… keep looking.”

“Do that. Somewhere not here.”

As soon as Zachariah had seen himself out, Lucifer collapsed into a chair, massaging his temples with his fingers. His wife had been missing since before the attack on Castiel, and Lucifer was not pleased. He suspected she was the noise they’d heard weeks ago when they’d been discussing the plan. Zachariah had not gotten into the other room in time to see what they’d heard, and by the time he’d gone to the balcony to check the sky, there was no differentiating between someone who had left Lucifer’s balcony and any of the other flyers. 

Lucifer had held his breath for days afterwards, until he’d gotten word from his inside source that the attack had gone off without a hitch. Mostly, anyway. There was, of course, the minor issue of his brother’s continued survival. Castiel should have died before ever reaching the border. The Leviathan had seemed so _confident_. With his brother dead in Cecropia, Lucifer would have been free to… ‘influence’ his parents any way he chose. Closing the border should have guaranteed his brother’s death, as well as certain _other_ things he had planned. 

What should not have happened was his brother making it all the way into the capital city, into the _castle_ no less, with his knot-tailed husband. The brainless snake was busy charming anyone who came too close to him. Apparently he had the Wool Guild telling him folktales, and then gossiping among themselves about how polite and well-mannered he was. It was enough to make Lucifer want to scream. His own mother was beginning to fall for the idiot’s appeal, and it was absolutely wrecking Lucifer’s day. He was sure he could turn it around to his benefit somehow, but he hadn’t figured out how yet.

The lack of detail in his message (particularly about how Castiel _lived_ ) annoyed him, but he couldn’t be too angry. His source had a very limited amount of space on which to write, since it had to fit into the capsule on the dove’s leg. It wasn’t until some time later that they learned of Uriel’s death. Zachariah had been near inconsolable, which only made Lucifer roll his eyes. It wasn’t like the man couldn’t have more children. Sure, he’d have to trade his wife in for a newer model, but what difference did that make? Besides, Lucifer knew for a fact that Uriel had not been Zachariah’s only child. 

But clearly, if what they had heard was an intruder, they hadn’t gotten the news to anyone who mattered in time. And the spies Lucifer had left at the Agaranese border hadn’t reported anything particularly unusual. Apparently, there’d been an Agaranese trespasser, which had resulted in increased patrols of the camp and its boundaries, but Lucifer had barely cared. That sort of thing happened all the time, and it was barely worth the time to report it. 

If what they had heard was Kelly, though, her word could hold some weight to it, even after so much time had passed. More importantly, though, was the fact that she was his. Whether or not she’d heard them, she had _no right_ to leave. He would have her retrieved, and then he would make sure she never even _thought_ of leaving him again.

*****

Uriel’s body arrived at the border in a distinguished manner, the transport not bothering to rush. Hester had made arrangements for the transport to be met at the border, to be taken on into the country by Enochians. The Enochian Royal Family had been very clear that, as a fallen hero, Uriel’s body was to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. That meant not tearing across the countryside like the Leviathan were on their trail. 

King Joshua had decreed that Uriel would be held in state for four days, to allow a proper mourning period, but before that the body had to be prepared. Hannah had been given the task of doing so. Her position as head priest meant that such tasks often fell to her. She could delegate many of the funerals that came through their temple, but a royal request needed the utmost in care.

Word of Uriel’s bravery in the face of the Leviathan had, once the two monarchies began at least talking to each other again, spread like a fire. Of course it was to be expected that a bodyguard lay his life down for his charge, but royal bodyguards rarely saw combat with the Leviathan. Michael and Lucifer, when in the field, usually had a squad assigned to them. Royal bodyguards were trained to deal with issues that arise in civilian life, such as assassination attempts and harassment. Leviathan were not considered a part of civilian life, and bodyguards were only minimally trained in how to deal with them. For Uriel to have done what he did was considered the height of bravery.

Hannah had been warned that the Cecropians had done something to the body to preserve it until it could be brought to her, using a substance called ‘white vitriol.’ No one was entirely sure what that meant, and Hannah was not particularly excited to find out. So it was with a fair amount of trepidation that she ordered the box opened. 

The smell of sawdust wafted up from the box, surprising Hannah and her assistants. It had been some time since the attack, and there had been the very real fear that Uriel’s body would be… well. Not easy to work with, per se. The fact that there was little to no smell was… strange, but promising for their needs. 

Carefully, she and her assistants dug into the sawdust, until they found Uriel. The body was… Not what they had expected. Whatever the Cecropians had done had preserved the body but completely transformed it. It was wizened, and as Hannah touched it, she realized the skin was almost paper-thin. Somehow, it seemed the Cecropians had managed to suck all the moisture out of it. 

It would make the mourning period far more pleasant for those attending, Hannah supposed. However, it meant she’d have to figure out a way for the funeral, once the mourning period was over. The state of the body would make things rather difficult as it was. 

As they pulled the body out of the box to place it in a more appropriate casket, Hannah noticed something. It was hard to tell, given the condition the body was in, but…

“Does that really look like the kind of wound a Leviathan would inflict?”

*****

Snow always fell early in Fleamdom. Because the Enochian capital was on a mountain, it got cold fast. Castiel had grown up accustomed to the idea, especially true in the castle, that the outermost rooms in the castle were generally abandoned as the cold set in. He had not stopped to think about how the move would affect Dean, however. 

Dean had already had one run-in with the cold, from what Cas had been told. The fact that the Wool Guild continued to ply Dean with more sweaters and hats and scarves was a source of constant amusement to Cas, but at the same time, the reason he needed them was concerning. Cas had noticed the warmer climate in Cecropia, of course, but he hadn’t really thought what that might mean about his husband’s family and their people. Cas had assumed, with the warmer summers, that there wasn’t a need to move into the inner areas of their castle. 

In Enochia, though, it was easier to warm a smaller area than a larger one. So the pipes that helped bring the warm air up from the basements and move it throughout the castle were strategically closed off, moving more air to fewer places. In the summer months, it made more sense to move the heat out farther, to cut the chill without overheating. But once Midwinter drew near, the need to move inward was pressing. This far north, this high up in the mountains, it was imperative to take measures in a building this large to account for heat loss. 

When they moved inward, extra wall hangings went up, curtains and blankets and tapestries, to help retain the heat and block out the cold. In the royal family, the unwed members would share a single suite, to help conserve heat. At one point, that was nearly all of them, and certainly included Castiel. Now, however, Anna and Raphael were the only holdouts. Gabriel had married (below his station, his mother scoffed, but she had far higher standards than anyone else) two years ago, to a noblewoman named Kali. Michael was still away at the front lines, but his wife Jane was living in the castle. James had chosen to live with his wife Amelia outside of the castle, in Amelia’s home, though Cas was hoping he would come back for the winter. Cas had not seen his wombmate since he had married Dean.

Anna, of course, as Princess Cleric, stayed within the temple. She had come to visit Cas and Dean a couple of times, but once the snows moved in she would be needed. The Festival Of The Darkness at Midwinter needed her, and it would be easier to spend the winter there with her religious family. In all likelihood, Princess Jane would be sent to Anna, as it would be inappropriate for her as a married Enochian to be alone for the winter, but equally inappropriate for her to spend her winter with only one person. It would be too similar to living as a married couple, and could cause problems for both Raphael and Jane.

Dean, it seemed, was finding the whole thing confusing, and funny as well, though Cas couldn’t imagine why.

“So you’re saying that water just. Falls from the sky, but it’s not rain?” Dean asked.

“It’s called snow, Dean. I’ve told you this.”

“And you guys are so afraid of this snow stuff that you all huddle together in the middle of this great big castle.” Dean was chuckling. Cas was not amused.

“We are not _afraid_ of it. We share rooms so that there is less heat loss. You have already experienced the cold once. It gets colder,” Cas said. “Have you never heard of snow?”

“I mean, Benjamin, the master rigger, she mentioned something about it, but I was more interested in the ropes she was talking about,” Dean said with a shrug.

“And you haven’t been outside since then?”

“With Raphael on my case? Are you kidding? I haven’t seen sunlight in forever!” 

Cas snorted. “My sibling is very strict, when e feels er patients aren’t listening. However, I fear that even if e had allowed you a chance to see the outdoors, the sun has largely abandoned us. Would you like to see snow, before we seclude ourselves in our rooms?”

“Sure. Let’s see if this is all it’s cracked up to be. Why don’t we bring Cassie, too?” Dean grinned. 

Since Dean had largely healed, Cassie had transitioned from doctor to friend and confidant. Cas was finding her pleasant to talk to, and nearly as tolerant of Cas’s tendency to ignore personal space as Dean was. When she’d presented him with the present she’d sat aside for him, Cas had been so touched he’d hugged her. 

The painting of the bees with their real honeycomb was currently hung in the suite they would be staying in. Cassie would be spending her time with them in their suite, mostly because it was easier. The Wool Guild had begun to outfit her as well, although because she had come equipped with her own belongings it was less urgent. They found her in their new rooms, and it didn’t take long for them to all bundle up sufficiently. 

Castiel led them to the nearest traverse alcove where, after one more check to be sure that both Cassie and Dean’s clothing would be sufficiently warm, Cas opened the exterior curtain. With Midwinter so close, the snow was already coating the ground. It fell from the sky in fat fluffy flakes, drifting to the ground like a soft blanket. Castiel had grown up here, and he was used to the sight, but neither Dean nor Cassie had seen winter in Fleamdom, and they were awestruck. 

“It’s so quiet…” Dean whispered. 

Chuckling, Cas shrugged. “It makes the world a little quieter, yes. The animals are mostly hibernating, or have traveled south for the winter.”

“Oh. Is this where the geese come in the summer? We see them travel, in the spring and fall,” Cassie said. 

“I would assume so. We do get geese, in the summer.” Cas gestured outward, with both wing and arm. “They seem to like some of the smaller lakes and tributaries around here, once the weather and water is warmer.”

“Suddenly, I think I get what Benjamin was telling me about the snows,” Dean said. “It wouldn’t take much to get lost out there. I can’t even see the mountain tops over there anymore.”

“Right,” Cas replied. “We can walk the lines, if we have to, or ride to the nearest house, and never risk ourselves.”

“It’s pretty,” Cassie said. Dean and Cas leaned against each other and nodded. 

Together the three of them watched the snow fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, basically white vitriol mummifies a body. Thus, Uriel has been mummified. This will cause some issues later.
> 
> We're coming to the end of this part! I apologize in advance.


	27. Chapter 27

Sam and Eileen had been on the Leviathan’s tail for weeks now, maybe longer. Sam had lost track of the days a long time ago, though he thought Eileen might know. The Leviathan stayed mostly in their carriage, getting out regularly for what appeared to be baths. But they’d always return quickly to the carriage, apparently uncomfortable in the open. Sam didn’t blame them. He was determined they would pay for what they’d done to his brothers. The only thing holding Sam back from torching their carriage was the fact that they were still on Cecropian territory.

Once they were on Leviathan land, they were his.

But when they stopped just short of Leviathan territory, Sam and Eileen could both tell something was up. They were quite a ways back, one on either side of the Leviathan carriage. 

“What’s going on?” Sam signed to Eileen.

“Not sure,” Eileen replied. “Let’s watch for now.”

At that moment, Roman got out of the carriage. “All right, you can come out now.”

Sam jerked, and turned towards Eileen. “He’s bluffing! Isn’t he?”

Eileen shrugged, but neither moved to show themselves. 

“I’m waiting,” Roman said loudly. Before Sam and Eileen could decide what to do, an arrow shot out of the woods from ahead of them, narrowly missing Roman. The Leviathan cursed. 

“We can’t let whoever that is kill them!” Sam signed frantically at Eileen. At her raised eyebrow ( _why not?_ ), he continued, “What if someone ordered them to do it?”

Eileen gave him a put-upon look, but within moments she was deep in the undergrowth, scenting the air with her tongue and hunting out the archer for an ambush. Sam, on the other hand, moved into the clearing, using his armored body to block Roman’s frailer one.

“If you bite me,” Sam said out loud, pulling out his bangar, “I will kill you first.”

If Roman was surprised by Sam’s appearance, he didn’t show it. “Ah. You were also following us then.”

“You might want to tell me who else is out there, buddy,” Sam retorted. “I have a better chance of defending you if you do.”

“Enochians. Sent by Prince Lucifer, if I don’t miss my guess.” 

That brought Sam up short, and the next arrow pinged off his tail armor. “By Castiel’s brother? For trying to kill him? I should leave you to them.” 

“For failing to kill him, actually. No loose ends, you know,” Roman said. He was far too calm for this encounter for Sam’s taste.

Sam blinked, about to ask more questions, when a scream went up in the bushes. Sam turned sharply, and spotted Eileen’s tail flicker up, before she moved on. With a grin, Sam settled in as two Agaranese warriors burst out into the clearing, brandishing weapons at them.

“I thought you said they were Enochians!” 

Roman jerked out his own sword and growled. “I never said I was perfect. Can we fight now, and I’ll answer your questions later?”

“Fine, but you better have good answers!”

The fight began.

*****

“It’s too early!” Kelly said. “I’m not due for another month or so!” 

Benny shook his head. “Babies don’t really care for what we think, princess. They say when they’re ready, and your’s are ready.”

Getting the supplies together, Benny set up the birthing stool for Kelly to sit in, with the hole in the middle for the babies to come out of. He still wasn’t sure she was having multiple children, but she was positive, and so was Princep Raphael, so he was prepared. His own child was still several months off being born, so Benny was in a fairly good position to help now. 

Enochians couldn’t lay on their back and give birth, not with the wings in the way. Their hips weren’t situated to be able to give birth like Agaranese dames did, on all fours. So instead they used a birthing stool. It would make it harder for Benny to help, but it would allow gravity to assist, and that was going to be important. Kelly was weak, far weaker than Benny was comfortable with, and he was afraid they’d need all the help they could get. 

The contractions began in earnest, and Kelly began to scream.

*****

Donna woke to shouting. She was up and through the tent door right behind Jody, just in time to see John and Michael’s tent, the royal tent, erupt into flames. 

“No!”

Cain jerked forward, instinctively wanting to protect his prince, but Lieutenant Dagon held him back. “It’s too late, sir.”

“Get the buckets!” Donna screamed.

Even as the bucket brigade started, though, she knew the lieutenant was right; it was too late. The royal tent was a total loss.

*****  
The Midwinter ceremony began in Enochia with the extinguishing of all the lights. Only the priest-light, symbolizing the hope of the nation, shone on, as the Darkest Night began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have reached the end of this part! And like all good (?) trilogies, the second part ends in a cliffhanger. 
> 
> Honestly, I do apologize for the cliffhanger. On the plus side, with my computer fixed and my personal life back on track, I am already mentally preparing for diving back into this beast. On the minus side, I'll still want to get a good head start before I start posting again, so expect at least a couple of months or more before posting resumes.
> 
> In the meantime, to help me relax my brain a bit I've joined the Harlequin Bang and am nearly done with it, and have another short story based on Meatloaf's "Objects In The Rearview Mirror" in mind. Both stories, you'll note, have plotlines and world-building mostly done for them. Brain break! I'll come back fresh though, and ready to post as soon as I can! I'm looking forward to sharing the rest with you!

**Author's Note:**

> fernan - Enochian third gender, encompasses nonbinary genders and trans people
> 
> Eald - male aspect of Enochian deity  
> Ealde - female aspect  
> Ealdan - neutral aspect, most closely associated with children  
> Ealdra - fernan aspect and general name, though most people invoke the aspect that shares their gender
> 
> leof - Enochian "beloved"  
> medleof - Enochian "most beloved" "dearest to my heart" a stronger inflection of leof
> 
> ouhoma - Enochian horn instrument made of hollowed cow or goat horns, used in music as well as in-air military code
> 
> Ophidai City - Cecropian capital city  
> Fleamdom - Enochian capital city


End file.
